Daughter of the Twilight, Daughter of the Light
by Midnight Kayari
Summary: A year has passed since Midna left. When a mysterious girl appears, chaos ensues once more. Who is this strange Twili girl with the eyes of a light dweller? As her story draws to a close, will the darkness she brought with her cover the light forever?
1. Arrival

**Chapter One: Arrival**

It was a dark and cloudy day in the Twilight Realm, as usual during this time of the year. The young Twilight Princess was actually surprised that it hadn't started to rain yet. She stared anxiously out of the window from her throne, waiting for something, but not exactly knowing what it was that she was waiting for.

Midna sat in the large, empty throne room, with a little empty blanket bundled in her arms. "Oh, what am I to do? My people expect an heir; need an heir, and how can I provide one for them if I refuse to marry?" She sighed hopelessly. She knew very well who it was that she loved and wished to be with, but it was just so wrong on so many levels.

It was the young warrior of sixteen who she traveled all across the Realm of Light with almost exactly a single year ago. He was so strong and handsome and noble…he would have done anything to protect his world and the people he cared about. He would have done anything to save _her_. Clad in green, the hero's garb…it was so fitting of him. His name was Link.

But he was a light dweller, whose ancestors were the very ones who banished her people to this dark realm of twilight so many years ago. And she didn't even know if he loved her back. They had been almost like enemies when they first met, and she had treated him so harshly, but they grew into such close friends that it was almost unbearable for her not to be any more than that. And besides, because of her actions one year ago, she would never again see him.

"I know it is against our law to be with one of the light dwellers, which is precisely one of the reasons why I broke the mirror, but..." Midna stood up, dropping the empty blanket on the floor as she headed over to the open window. She reached her hand out to the sky and grabbed at a fragment of Twilight Matter. _Nothing…why does it seem so solid? I've always wondered…what exactly am I doing here? What do I hope to accomplish? This Twilight Matter…it is just like me. Aimlessly floating through dreams, unable to be touched by those who would wish to hold me…_

Suddenly, a loud noise filled the halls. A vortex of light opened up on the ceiling to the throne room. And then, a small Twili girl dropped through the portal and landed right in Midna's lap.

Midna jumped as the weight of the girl hit her full-force. _Ouch, this must have been how Link felt all of those times I dropped onto his in wolf form_, she thought to herself as she winced. _If I ever happen to see him again, I'm going to have to apologize for that…_

The girl was perhaps no taller than four and a half feet in height. Her short, layered, orange colored hair was spiked at the ends, giving her a kind of "I'm tough, don't mess with me" look. Her bangs were fashioned in a way that looked very familiar, but Midna just couldn't put her finger on it as to where she had seen that particular bang-cut before. A swirling black "S" design covered her torso, and a black cape with a teal interior hung down her back.

Then the little Twili girl spoke. "You are Midna, correct?" She looked up at Midna with her big blue eyes.

_Wait a minute_, Midna wondered as she noticed the color of the Twili girl's eyes. _My people do not possess this color of the eyes. Only those who dwell in the light possess eyes that bear the color of the sky of the Realm of the Light. How can this Twili child have blue eyes?_

"Well," the little Twili girl spoke again. "Are you Midna or not?"

Midna was caught off guard, as she was still pondering how the girl could have had blue eyes. That just wasn't naturally possible. And wondering how the girl looked so much like she did. She didn't have any sisters or nieces or any kind of younger females in her family. And also how her hair was not the natural black or orange colors of the Twili hair, but a strawberry blonde, like a mix between the purity of the Hylian's and the Twili's. _Strange…_ But she nodded her head at the girl in response to her question. "What purpose do you have for barging into my throne room?" she demanded shortly after nodding.

"Good. I've been looking all over for you," and suddenly, her scowl turned into a devilish grin. She floated up so she was in front of Midna, and she raised her hands in front of her face. "Tell me where you've hidden the Silver Tear."

"The silver tear?" Midna asked. What could she mean? She knew of no tear…But then she remembered, how almost a year ago, she had shattered the Mirror of Twilight with one of her own tears. Could that have been the Silver Tear the girl spoke of? That was merely a small droplet of water, with some salts, nothing more. Her own will had caused it to crystallize into the force that shattered the mirror.

"Don't play dumb, Princess, the Silver Tear. Only with that can the true ruler of the Twilight destroy the Mirror, and only with that can the Mirror be restored by the successor of the royal bloodline."

"Then what could you ever hope to accomplish with this Silver Tear, since clearly I have no child of my own, and so I have no heir. Not even a cousin or niece to the throne can use that power, so what could you possibly want the tear for?" But then she looked at a little silver chain that was hanging from the girl's neck, and on the end of it, hung a small, silver, tear-shaped pendant. "Just who _are_ you?" asked Midna.

"Not telling." She smiled mischievously and let out a little giggle of delight. "Now hand over the Silver Tear."

Midna remembered that look. It was the same look of determination that _he_ had when he was going to destroy Ganondorf. Could this strange girl perhaps be…?

No. Midna brushed the very thought away. There was no way that this girl could have been related to either her or Link, or any of the other light dwellers for that matter. This girl was a race of her own. And how could Link be related to a Twili, anyways? A roughly ten-year old Twili for that matter? But her eyes…they were just like his…

"Hey, you, stop dazing off, I'm talking to you here! Fork over the tear, or I'm going to have to do something I _really_ don't think you want me to do."

"Who _are_ you?" Midna managed to say before the strange girl blasted a cluster of light at her. "Why are you here?" Midna's entire body was engulfed in the bright, warmth of the light, and before she knew it, she had slipped into a state of unconsciousness.

When she awoke again, the strange girl was floating over her. Her vision was a little fuzzy from the extreme concentration of light previously, but then her eyes began to focus. She mentally thanked Zant, something she never thought she'd do after his betrayal so long ago. If he hadn't exposed her to the pure light of the Light Spirits back then, this strange girls magic would have surely killed her, as it would have any other Twili. She could see the blue sky quite clearly…_ Wait a minute!_ The sky of her world was _never_ blue. It could be grays, blacks, purples, and all shades of red, orange and yellow, but _never_ blue.

"Whoops, I guess I might have overdone it a bit," the girl said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Where am I?" she asked, even though she already had a pretty good idea.

The girl sighed and rolled her eyes. "What are you, stupid? This is Hyrule."


	2. Victim Number Two

Chapter Two: Victim Number Two

"How did we wind up here?" asked Midna.

The little girl rolled her eyes again. "I brought us here."

"But the only way that Hyrule is connected to the Twilight Realm is the…"

The little girl cut her off. "The Twilight Mirror, I know. Unless you were too stupid to notice, I'm not bound by the idiocy of that law. I belong to _both_ worlds, so I can travel between the two at my own will."

Midna sat there for a moment, trying to understand what the girl was getting at. _Both_ worlds, she had said. So could she have been half-Hylian and half-Twili? She had suspected that from the beginning because of the color of her eyes, but who could she be to possess such great power? Who could her parents have been, for that matter? Only the Royal Family or the pure-blooded Hylians had such strong magic running through their veins, and of the Twili people, only she and Zant had been to Hyrule before the mirror was shattered, other than the warped, twisted creatures that Zant had changed her people into. But they didn't count. They were barely alive in the first place.

The girl continued. "So, now that we're here, I'm taking you to Ordon. Got it?" she said, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, yeah, I've got it," replied Midna, irritated. This girl, whoever she was, showed no obvious respect to her ruler.

As they walked south in the direction of Ordon, Midna began to ponder the girl's origins once again. _So…Zant was here, too…_and then she started to laugh as one of the strangest thoughts slipped into her mind. Could the girl have been Zant's daughter? Zant and who? Only problem with her theory was that this girl must have been at least ten years of age, and the incident with the Twilight Realm occurred only a year ago. She tried to suppress her chuckles, but to no avail.

Unfortunately, the girl noticed. "What's so funny?" she asked. "Got something to share?"

"No…nothing…nothing at all," Midna replied between giggles.

The girl started to scowl again, but then she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Then the expression on the girl's face eased up. "Look…I'm sorry for being so mean to you earlier. I was…in a hurry, and your reactions were exceedingly slow."

Midna was a little startled by the girl's apology. "What were you in such a rush to do?"

"I'm still in a rush. It's just that now…my plan is a little more on track than it was before…"

"So what exactly is your plan?"

"I'll tell you when we get there," the girl replied. "Promise," she added, holding out her pinky for Midna to take. Midna wrapped her own pinky around that of the girl's and smiled. The two were silent for the remainder of their journey to Ordon.

As they came to the entrance to the village, Midna spoke. "Shouldn't we…you know, hide in the shadows or something? So we don't get noticed by the light dwellers?"

The little girl stopped in her tracks. "You have a point. Alright, let's go." And with that, she sank into the shadows. Midna quickly followed suit.

They wandered through the village hidden in the shadows until they reached a tall tree-house structure. There was a sign at the base of the tree that read, "Link's House." The two Twili girls left their positions in the shadows and came into the light again, climbing up the ladder to the door.

"Why are we at Link's house?" asked Midna. She felt heat rising to her cheeks as she said his name.

"I'll tell you later. But right now, we need to go wake him up."

"But isn't it like…noon in this world right now?"

"He's a heavy sleeper. And a late sleeper. What, you should know; you traveled with him all across Hyrule, didn't you?"

"Yeah but…"

"But what?"

"He never really slept. Neither of us did. We napped now and then…but we never slept."

"Well he's probably just making up for all of that lost sleep from when you were journeying."

"But that was like…a whole year ago. You can't mean that he's _still_ getting back lost sleep?!"

"Be quiet, we're here!" impatiently whispered the Twili girl as they reached the inside of Link's house.

Link was sleeping quite soundly in his bed, with one arm hanging over the side. His eyes were closed so peacefully, his eyelashes resting gently against his cheeks. His blonde hair was tousled, and it was jutted out in every direction. Midna couldn't help but think that he was so…_handsome_ like that.

The Twili girl interrupted her thoughts when she suddenly grabbed Link's long, pointed ear and screamed into it. "Wake up, boy! Rise and shine!"

Link was so startled that he fell right out of his bed, hitting his head on the bed-stand. He sat up slowly, rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head. When he opened his eyes, he saw Midna in her true form…and a girl who looked a little bit like a smaller, younger version of Midna standing before him. He blinked a few times, and then rubbed his eyes, just to make sure that they weren't hallucinations from his head-banging. "Mi-Midna?" he stuttered.

Midna smiled at him. "It's really me."

Link smiled the biggest, happiest smile since the day he and Zelda defeated Ganondorf. Midna closed her eyes and smiled wider.

Then the Twili girl interrupted again. It seems she has a nasty habit of doing things like that. "Sorry to interrupt this happy little reunion, but we need to get going. Time's running short, and we've got to get out of here and to Hyrule Castle before nightfall. Without a horse and without the power to teleport throughout Hyrule, that doesn't give us much time to rest. Up, up, up! Get your stuff, get dressed, and let's go!"

She grabbed Midna by the arm and pulled her into the shadows, dragging her out the door.

Link hastily fumbled through his things. Then he found his green tunic from his journey last year. Would it finally be time for him to don it once more? He quickly put it on, along with all of the belts, buckles, and even his sword strap and scrambled out the door, following the moving shadows on the ground that were the Twili girls. "I can't believe it's really her," he thought happily to himself. He would gladly follow this bossy Twili into madness if it meant that he could see Midna again.

And so, the party of a Twili, a Hylian, and the mysterious half-breed began their hurried trek across Hyrule.


	3. Her Name Revealed

**Chapter Three: Her Name Revealed**

The Hylian man and the two shadows at his feet had already reached the far end of Faron woods. The trees that loomed over them, casting frothy shadows about, began to thin. They could see the bright light coming from the great fields of Hyrule, where the trees were scarce and the monsters were once aplenty. Twenty or thirty steps and they would be back in Hyrule Field. They were so close…

And then a girl's voice with a demanding tone called out. "Link! Where on earth do you think you're running off to?" That voice…Midna knew it all too well.

Link winced and turned around. He'd been caught…by Ilia. The dirty-blonde with a passion for horses and quite a short temper when it came to Link had just arrived, and she was less than welcome.

"I'm just…" he stammered, searching the depths of his mind for an excuse.

"Just what? And what's with that getup? You're not planning to do anything dangerous, are you?" she demanded to know as she marched up to him. She grabbed him by the collar of his tunic and brought his face closer to hers. "Well?"

"Ilia, I've really got to go. I'm in a hurry. Can't this wait until later?" pleaded Link.

"Just tell me where you're going and why you weren't going to tell me!" retorted the frustrated Ilia.

Link mentally sighed. The only reason that he didn't sigh out loud was for fear of angering his friend even further. "I'm going to the castle. I wasn't going to tell you because…because…" he quickly tried to come up with an excuse. "I didn't want to worry you."

"At least take me with you," she asked, her face still angry, but her voice softer. She let go of the collar of his tunic, and Link was finally able to straighten himself out.

"And because I was going to be back soon anyways. Please don't tell anyone that I'm leaving." He clasped his hands around Ilia's and made a puppy-dog face. She _always_ gave into his puppy dog face.

Ilia's face softened up, but just as she was about to say something, the little Twili girl materialized out of the shadows and grabbed hold of Ilia's and Link's hands. "Come on! We don't have time for this!" And she pulled Link away from Ilia and dashed out to Hyrule field. Midna was still in the shadows, following closely behind them.

Ilia was stunned, but only momentarily. "What the heck was that?" she whispered to herself before taking a mad-dash after Link and the strange girl. "Link!" she cried after him. "Wait!"

The Twili girl looked back at her and sighed. Then she called back, "If you want to tag along, go ahead, but you'd better not slow us down, _human_!" She turned to Link and told him to just keep running before she dove back into the shadows again.

Ilia was still running after them, and while she ran she snatched up a piece of horse-reed from the grass. She blew into it with all of her might, mentally thanking the Gods that Link had finally taught her how to play them correctly. Suddenly, a beautiful red horse with a white mane came galloping from Ordon. It was Epona. Ilia quickly leapt onto the majestic horse's back and crouched down so as not to be slowed down by catching the wind upon her body.

Ilia rode up close to the two people and the shadow following them. They didn't even bother to acknowledge that she had sped up to them. They did, however, glance at Epona, wondering why she was letting Ilia ride her. Usually, she would only be tame for Link. Perhaps the mare had settled down a bit and allowed those closest to Link upon her back? But they quickly shook away their thoughts. They had to get to the castle, and it was already getting late.

The rest of their dash to the castle was void of words, but heavy breathing filled the air. Who wouldn't be tired after running, jogging, walking, and then running again all across the huge expanse that was Hyrule field?

Ilia looked down at Link and got off of Epona, but was running alongside her. "Link," she said. "Take Epona. Have your rest, I can run the rest of the way."

Link nodded at her and hopped up on Epona's back while he was still in running motion. Much to Ilia's surprise, he grabbed onto her hand and pulled her right up onto the horse again and sat her behind him. She wrapped her arms tightly around his chest so as not to fall off.

The Twili girl looked up at them from the shadows, disgusted with what she was seeing. "It's because of that human I'm here on this stupid mission in the first place," she said to herself. "Why won't she just _give up_?"

Midna had overheard her. "Mission? Because of Ilia?"

"It's none of your business, Miss Clueless."

They arrived at Hyrule castle town at dusk. Even then, the sun was quickly slipping behind the horizon.

The young Twili girl materialized from the shadows, and at that very moment, said, "Hurry, we have to get to the castle before nightfall! We're running out of time!"

"Why nightfall?" asked Ilia.

"Because the gates of the Castle close at dusk, and no one is allowed in or out. It's for the safety of the Princess!" This time it was Midna who had replied, she herself materializing from the shadows as well.

Ilia was a little surprised that there were now two of the strange girls that had popped up from the shadows, but she brushed off the feeling. She figured that if she was going to be following Link around, stranger things than this would be happening. Little did she know how right she was going to be.

Within a few minutes, the four travelers and their horse arrived at the gates of the Castle. Dusk was quickly falling. They were nearly out of time.

"Stop right there!" cried on of the guards. "What business do you have at the castle at this hour?"

"We have a need to consult the princess," replied the Twili girl.

The guard laughed at her. "Hah! And who are you supposed to be, little girl? Are you so important that you can see her highness at this hour without a signed letter?"

"My name is Aura. What, you can't remember me?" she said. "I'm hurt. And after all those nice things you promised me, too. Well, what can I expect?"


	4. Her Secret Told

Chapter Four: Her Secret Told

Midna could hardly believe that the Twili girl had revealed her name. She had spent so much effort keeping her name a secret from her that she would never have expected the girl to reveal it so freely to some lousy human. Well, at least she knew the girl's name now. But there was something…strangely familiar about that name. She was sure she had never met anyone by the name of Aura before.

Yet Aura was her name nonetheless. It was so beautiful. She always remembered thinking that if she had ever had a daughter of her own; she would have named her Aura, simply because it was fit for a Daughter of the Twilight.

"Oh, yes, lady Aura. My apologies. Her highness has been expecting you. You're quite late. And it seems as though you've brought a few friends along?" replied the guard, as he raised an eyebrow, quite casually.

"This is Princess Midna who has traveled far from her kingdom to speak with your princess, for she is very good friends with her." Aura motioned in the direction of Midna. She was a lot more polite to this guard than she had been to Midna. Aura continued speaking. "This is Link, our bodyguard, and also a good friend of your princess. And this is Ilia. She's just a tagalong."

Ilia shot a nasty look at the young Twili girl.

Ilia and Link hopped down off of Epona and left her with the guard. The quartet then made their way past the guard and into the Castle.

Link, Midna, and Aura were unfazed by the colossal size and beauty of the courtyard alone, not to mention the towering beauty of the castle itself. However, Ilia was awestruck. She had never in her life seen such a beautiful garden or such a huge building. But she dared not stray behind for fear that the group would move on without her.

When they finally reached the throne room, they were greeted cordially by Princess Zelda. "You're late," she said as she smiled at Aura.

"Sorry about that," she replied. "There were some…knots in our plan. They've been straightened out now, though, for the most part."

"For the most part?"

"We've got a tag-along."

"So it appears," she replied. Zelda looked behind Aura and saw Link, Midna and Ilia. "It's good to see you two again," she said to Link and Midna. "And it's nice to meet you," she added to Ilia. She curtseyed and motioned for the party to come closer. "I had only arranged for there to be rooms for three of you to stay, but I suppose I could make some arrangements of some sort…or perhaps two of you wouldn't mind sharing a room?"

Ilia looked at Link, who looked at Midna, who looked at Aura, who looked back at the three of them. Ilia grabbed hold of Link's hand. Midna tried to hold back the hint of jealousy that was bubbling up inside of her. Aura was trying not to make faces in disgust. Then Link said, "Ilia and I can share a room. I mean, I can sleep on the floor or something; it won't bother me at all. And we've been friends since we were little, so it will be fine with the both of us."

Aura winced and turned her head quickly to face Princess Zelda as if asking desperately for her to say no. But she was soon to be disappointed.

What Zelda's reply was, was, "As you wish." Aura felt like she had just had her soul ripped from her body. Zelda had just taken two steps back out of the plan.

Zelda dismissed the party to their rooms. Ilia and Link walked hand in hand to their room, Midna stayed behind a little while longer so that she could speak with Zelda, and Aura sat down and started to pout, refusing to go to her room until Zelda gave her an answer.

When Ilia and Link were gone for sure and out of ear's reach, Aura began to speak. "What's going on, Zelda? Why did you let them share the same room? The whole idea is to separate those two, not push them together! It's her fault I have to be here in the first place!"

"I'm sorry," was Zelda's reply. "I couldn't just say no, it would be suspicious. However, it isn't like they are sleeping together or anything. Link said so himself that he would take the floor."

"Are you so naive? That stupid girl could pull anything! Everything we've worked so hard to pull off this for could end in vain this very night because of what you let happen! It's her fault that things get so messed up!"

Midna interrupted. "What do you mean it's her fault? What exactly have you been planning?"

Aura looked up at Midna and crossed her arms.

"You promised you'd tell me."

Aura looked away. "Well…I'm not from around here."

"That's rather obvious; of course, you are definitely of Twili blood. I mean, look at your skin color, hair color, and the way you're dressed. There is, of course, that whole deal with your eyes, but…" Midna was rather confused at what Aura was getting at.

Aura sighed and rolled her eyes. She still refused to look Midna in the face. "That's not what I mean! I mean that I'm not…from this _time_."


	5. Her Story

Chapter Five: Her Story

"What do you mean not from this _time_?" demanded Midna.

"I mean that I'm from the future," replied Aura.

"How?"

"It's a long story."

"I don't care. I like long stories. I want to hear the whole thing, right now."

Aura took a deep breath and sighed. She looked at Princess Zelda, and Zelda nodded at her. "Alright, fine, I'll tell you…"

zzz

It was almost ten years from this very day, and both worlds were on the brink of falling into darkness. The young half-breed knew not how the darkness seeped into her home; for she was too little to remember. Her Hylian father had drawn the Master Sword for the second time, and was trying as hard as he could to seal the darkness away. He fought so valiantly, so powerfully…but it was all in vain…

A huge, black, bubbling cloud pushed its way towards him. He rolled to the side and brought his sword down upon the black-mass. The darkness split itself into two clouds, but it was too late. A large portion of it had been absorbed into the Master Sword. The clouds began to spark at the place they had split themselves apart.

The Hylian man swung his sword in a horizontal motion, slashing hard and fast around his body in a spinning-motion. He screamed out a ferocious battle cry as he sliced through the ominous black clouds of darkness. A small patch that had been cleared of the darkness surrounded his body. It was then that the half-breed, his own daughter, threw herself into the fray.

The Hylian swung his mighty blade, absorbing any darkness that got in his way. The half-breed clawed at the shadows, pulling it towards her and then calling upon the powers of the silver tear that hung at her neck, shattering the black masses into miniscule shards, which soon evaporated into nothingness. It seemed as though the battle was going so well…

But the darkness was eating away at the blade of evil's bane, and its power was quickly waning. And with only a single silver tear of twilight, there wasn't much the small girl could do to aid her father in his battle against the shadows filled with malice, seeped in the reek of murder and pain.

Her father was growing weak. It had been hours, and he had been battered by the darkness. His strength, along with the power of the sword, was dissipating faster than their enemy. He let out a loud cry of pain as he was struck through the chest, the darkness finally landing a fatal blow on the man.

His daughter turned around to see her father kneeling on the ground, his arms hung limp by his sides, his sword tossed across from him, blood pouring from his wounds. His eyes were quickly losing the life that they once held. The young girl cried out in terror and rushed to the man's side as she saw her father dying before her very eyes.

"Father!" she screamed, holding his head up with her hands.

"Au…ra…please…" he breathed uneasily. "It's…up to…you…now…"

"What's up to me?" she asked, trying as hard as she could to hold back her tears. She tried to mask her fear, but to no avail.

"I know…that…you are afraid…but…" he began to cough up blood. His face filled with terror as he began to hemorrhage.

"Father!" she screamed, now unable to hold back her tears. The hot, salty droplets streamed down her face, burning her miniscule scrapes from the battle.

"Take the…sword…to the ped…es…tal…and seal…the dark…ness…once and…for…" he fell over on the ground, unable to hold his body up any longer. "All…"

The darkness would not wait for this painful, tender moment to finish between the father and child. It threw itself at them, consuming the Hylian in all of its shadows, but the half-breed rolled out of the way just in time. She picked up the sword and held it close to her chest. She could feel the evil that was trapped within its holy light pulsing through the metal.

She looked back at where the darkness had lunge itself at her father. All that was left was a dark patch of blood, his earrings, and his shield. Everything else was gone. She resisted the urge to throw up at the very sight.

Back in the Twilight Realm, unbeknownst to the half-breed, her mother was busy dealing with the darkness that had seeped into the Twilight. She had donned the fused shadow, the device that she had locked away eleven years ago to rot in seclusion because of the power she thought she would never have the need to call upon again. But she was wrong; she _had_ needed to use the fearsome powers of the ancient magic that should have been forsaken.

She shot her spider-like appendages in every which direction, smashing, tearing, and destroying everything in her path. Her loyal subjects, the other Twili people, fought bravely beside her, casting their pure twilight magic against the darkness. For hours the battle raged on. And finally, at the very moment they destroyed the portal from which the darkness had come…the Twilight Mirror itself…everything turned white. Everywhere. Even in the Realm of the Light.

The young half-breed was still clutching the Master Sword to her chest when everything around her disappeared. She was standing all alone in a vast, empty, seemingly endless expanse of white.

And then there were five people standing around her, as if from nowhere. They, too, were all white. Their clothes, their skin…everything about them was more blanched than an albino. They were none other than the remaining sages from Ganondorf's onslaught.

They told the half-breed what she had to do, and why. Her duty was to go back in time and change the past. Why? Because something had occurred that would undo the half-breed's very own existence.

In the past she had to return to, the Twilight Mirror had already been destroyed. This, of course, meant that the battle that was to happen ten years from then would never take place. However, this also meant that the Twilight Princess and the Hero of Light would be separated forever, with no means of seeing each other again. The Twilight Princess knew better than to restore the mirror that was saturated with evil just to be with the man…with the Hylian man…who she loved. Her duty was first and foremost to her people, not her heart. The half-breed would never have been born.

And worse still, in the past she had to change, Link was falling in love with a human, his childhood friend who was already deeply in love with him. Because he knew that he would never see the Twilight Princess again, he pushed back his feelings for her and opened his heart to another woman.

What the little half-breed had to do now was to go back, bring her future parents together once more, and separate her future father from his childhood friend. She also had to make sure that she accomplished all of this within a time limit, and without restoring the Twilight Mirror.

Midna looked down at the tear-shaped pendant that was hanging around Aura's neck that she had noticed when she first came to her. "So that's the silver tear? Then why did you want mine?"

zzz

"Midna, you _are_ my mother," spoke Aura.

Midna blanched. "I'm…wait, how could that…?" She put her hands up to her forehead. "Your mother…? That's…"

Zelda began to speak. "Aura is yours and Link's future child. Alternate future's child, if our goals are not met."

"What?!" Midna gasped as she collapsed onto her knees. "So she's…?" So _that's_ why she felt so strange around the young Twili…or rather, half Twili half Hylian girl. That's why the pendant around her neck seemed so familiar. "But how did you get to the past?"

"For some reason, because I was not the person that pulled the sword from the pedestal in the first place, when I put it back, it had a strange effect on me. I was flung ten years into the past. The sages told me that it was their plan all along, and they needed to change the future that I came from, because in that future…on that day, the world ended. But the only one who was capable of changing that future was me, and I would have to avert the prevention of my own birth. I am the only one who can do this…the Daughter of the Twilight…and the Daughter of the Light."


	6. Inconvenience

Chapter Six: Inconvenience

The three girls were silent. Aura was staring at the floor, a mixture of sorrow, denial, and anger in her eyes. Midna was kneeling on the ground, holding her arms around herself and trying not to cry. Zelda stood motionless, her hand to her side and her eyes to the ceiling.

Just then, a guard entered the hall. "Your highness, I understand that you do not wish to be disturbed whilst in meetings of utter importance, but I do believe it is getting late. Maybe you should get some sleep? And your visitors as well, since I'm sure they must have traveled very far."

Zelda snapped her concentration to the guard in the doorway. "Thank you for informing me, sir," she said matter-of-factly. "I did not realize how late it was getting. You are dismissed."

The guard quickly scurried back out the door, closing it softly behind him.

Zelda turned to face Aura and Midna. "Well, why don't the two of you get to sleep? I'm going to head for my chambers, and you should do the same. We'll settle things in the morning."

Midna sighed and stood up, then walked over to Zelda and put her hand on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks. "You knew? About my feelings for Link?"

Zelda put her hand on top of Midna's. "Yes."

"And you still let me destroy the mirror?"

"By the time I realized what it was you were doing, I could not do anything to stop you. And you know as well as I that the mirror held within it an incredible evil force. As Aura had made clear, our duty to our people comes first and foremost. Not the duty to our hearts."

Aura got up and walked over to the two princesses. "Come on. Let's get to sleep."

"You're right, come on," agreed Midna.

"We need to wake up early and drag Link away from that stupid human girl before they get up tomorrow morning," added Aura with a devilish grin. This caused Midna and Zelda to smile and let out a brief chuckle.

"Well, good night my friends," said Zelda as she embraced the two others girls. "We shall see each other tomorrow morn.

And so they all set off for their chambers and quickly drifted off to sleep…

In the morning, Aura was the first to awaken. "I'll let the others sleep a little while longer…I need some more time to plot," she yawned to herself, thinking of a reasonable way to separate her future father and his growing love interest.

Midna lay awake in her bed as well, staring longingly at the ceiling. "I was so stupid…why couldn't I have just told him the contents of my heart before I shattered the mirror? Then we wouldn't be having this stupid problem in the first place. I should have waited just a little while longer to break the mirror…Just a few moments, a day at the most…that's all it would have taken…"

Aura burst into Midna's room (which was probably entirely unnecessary because she could have just slipped under the door by traveling through the shadows). "Come on, let's go. Before the human wakes up. Link may be one heckuva late sleeper, but I doubt that she is the same."

Midna quickly hopped out of bed and made her way out the door, closely following behind Aura. They walked around a corner and traveled down a few flights of stairs, and met up with Princess Zelda.

"Good morning, girls. Are we ready to do this?" she asked as she stuck out her hand to start a "group hand-pile".

"Ready as ever," said Midna, placing her hand on top of Zelda's.

"Let's do this," finished Aura, slapping her hand down on top of the other two, pushing them down, and then raised her hand into the air.

Zelda turned and headed towards Ilia's and Link's room. Aura and Midna followed closely behind. When they finally got there, she asked, "What's the plan, Aura?"

"It's quite simple, really. Midna will go in as a shadow and check out what we have to work with. Then, depending on what actually happened last night, we'll make our move and get Link out of there. Worst case scenario, they slept together, and we'll have to get him out of bed without Ilia noticing. If that happens, we're going to have to hit her in the head with something pretty heavy…"

Zelda interrupted. "I'll have no senseless violence occurring in my palace, especially if you expect me to be a part of it."

"Alright, alright, fine. We'll just leave him alone if he's in bed." Aura tried not to wince as she counteracted her own plan. "Well, if he's not in bed, we'll just grab him and go. Simple as that."

The trio nodded, and Midna sank into the shadows. She slipped herself under the door and materialized…in utter shock at what she was seeing…or rather, what she _wasn't_ seeing… "I think we're going to have a bit of a problem…"


	7. Scattered

Chapter Seven: Scattered

Midna stood there, wide eyed with a partially opened mouth at what had become of the environment. The bed was perfectly made as if it hadn't even been touched the night before. Everything else in the room, however, was an utter disaster. The tapestries that had been hanging on the walls had been torn down as if someone in a fit of rage came storming through the place. The bed-side table had been knocked over, with one of the legs broken off of it. A porcelain vase had been knocked to the ground and shattered into fragments, torn petals of the flowers that once rested within strewn across the cold, stone floor.

But worst of all…Link and Ilia were nowhere to be found.

zzz

Ilia awoke to the sound of loud, obnoxious grunts. Grunts that seemed oddly pig-like. Followed by the sound of a snapping whip, which in turn was followed by a shrill squealing sound. Definitely that of a pig, thought Ilia.

Her vision was blurry, but not unbearably unfocused. She could scarcely make out where she was. She was in some kind of wooden, rotting prison somewhere in the desert. The room was dark, with the only light coming from the jagged un-wooded spaces in the door. She did not dare touch anything for fear of getting splinters.

She sat up and dusted the sand off of her body. She was feeling unusually grungy for some odd reason, as if she had been dragged by her ankles through a dusty wasteland for the past few hours. She rubbed her head and sighed, long and heavy. "Damn…"

zzz

Midna yanked the door open behind her and urged Zelda and Aura to come into the room. "You won't believe this!" she yelped.

"Won't believe what?" asked Zelda as she walked slowly into the room. The confusion on her face was quickly replaced with shock as she saw what had become of the room. She brought her hands up to her face to cover her mouth. "By the Gods…" she muttered under her breath.

"What, what is it?" asked Aura, quickly pushing herself through the doorway and into the room. When she saw the state that the room was in, she gasped. But when she saw that Link was nowhere to be found, she started to get angry. "What the hell happened?" she screamed.

"Watch your language, young lady," scolded Midna half-heartedly. Her mind was in a wreck, worrying about Ilia and…Link…

"You aren't my mom yet, Princess, I don't have to do anything you tell me," Aura argued back, sticking out her tongue. Midna shrugged in response.

Zelda walked further into the room. She found a note written in ancient Hylian, crumpled and wedged between a torn book and a miniature, broken statue of the three goddesses. She unfolded it and began to read it to herself, all the while holding her free hand to her face in horror.

"What does it say?" asked Midna.

"It says that this was only a warning, and they're coming back for more…"

"Who's coming back? And how did they even get in here without anyone noticing? Especially with this huge mess they made? Doesn't that seem a little unrealistic to you?" asked Midna.

"Okay, I know this is bad, but is that really something to be so horrified over? We can easily fix this mess and get the guards to do they're job the right way in the first place, right? And Link and that silly human are sure to be somewhere around here, right? It's not like they could have just up and vanished," said Aura.

"You don't understand…it's not the fact that they vandalized royal property that's got me worried…it's that those two are gone without even a trace…and it's who made this mess in the first place."

"Who?" asked Aura impatiently. "Who did this that could get you so worked up?"

"Moblins." There was a long, uncomfortable pause after Zelda said this. The word hung ominously in the air around them, echoing in their heads. The word that meant something was going on in Hyrule…and that something was definitely not good.

zzz

Link awoke with a terrible pain in his side and a grueling headache. He could feel a warm breeze drifting through some kind of opening and over his body. He ran his fingers through his hair, to discover that it was horribly scraggily and filled with sand. He moaned in frustration as he began to frantically brush the sand out of his hair.

He sat up groggily and put his hand to his forehead while he propped up his body with his other arm. "Gods, what the hell happened?"

He rubbed his eyes and tried to look around him to see where he was. He knew that he obviously wasn't at the castle anymore, the ground was far too moist and scratchy, and there was way too much dry heat in the air. Not to mention the fact that he felt like he had been beaten viciously with a large blunt weapon and he was somehow covered in sand. But, despite his squinting and blinking, his eyes were just too out of focus to see anything of importance.

He could, however, hear grunting coming from somewhere. It sounded disturbingly familiar…like the squeals of a battle boar accompanied by the noises that a Moblin made…

zzz

"Moblins? But doesn't that mean…?" started Midna, breaking the eerie silence. Her face filled with the sudden realization of something terrible.

Zelda nodded. "Ganondorf."

Aura crossed her arms and shrugged. "Come on, Ganondorf? _The_ Ganondorf? Do you have any idea how cliché that is? Every time something bad goes wrong in this country, doesn't it seem like Ganondorf's to blame?"

"That's not true," answered Zelda. "Just a vast majority of the time. Since long, long ago he's plagued our country and its people. His powers are not to be taken lightly."

Aura rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, I get the picture."

"And besides…look at this…" She held the letter out to Aura to see.

There, placed on top of the letter so that it was quite visible to see, was a piece of the frame of the Twilight Mirror.

The tear-shaped pendant that hung around her neck began to resonate with light as it got closer to the piece of the Twilight Mirror frame. Midna noticed and asked, "What's the deal with your Silver Tear?"

Aura looked down, and sure enough, the silver tear was glowing, brighter and brighter, stretching out farther and farther into the darker regions of the wreckage.

"What the?!" was all she managed to say before there was a great flash. The light grew and grew until it engulfed the three of them, and then they vanished without a trace.


	8. The Arbiter's Grounds

Chapter Eight: The Arbiter's Grounds

The light faded, and the room was empty. All that was left was the wreckage that had been wrought the previous night. Footsteps echoed through the hallway as multiple guards ran down the hallways and towards the room that had been glowing only a few moments earlier. One of the guards entered the room, for he was the one who had seen the light, and he rushed in ahead of the others as soon as it died down.

"Your Highness?" he called into the room. He looked around, seeing no sign of either the princess or her guests… And then, upon noticing the terrible condition of the room, dropped his spear and dropped his mouth open. "Holy…"

Another guard walked into the room and picked up the note that had been carelessly tossed to the ground.

"What does it say?" asked a different guard.

"I don't know. I can't make out this lettering."

"What do you mean? Is it in some other language or something?"

"Precisely."

The other guard walked over to the one who was holding the note. "Ancient Hylian? Why, the only ones who can still read that language are the sages, the princess, and the strange folk that hang around at the bar in town."

"Telma's bar?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Who knows Ancient Hylian there?"

"There's this scholar…Shad's the name, I do believe."

"Then we'll just go to this Shad fellow."

"Understood."

The guard who had first entered the room turned towards the others and picked up his spear again. "Men, we're moving out. To Telma's Bar. We're going to find this 'Shad' character and ask him to decipher that there letter. Maybe it will help us find the princess and get to the bottom of things."

They all straightened themselves out and stood at attention. "Yes sir!"

zzz

In another part of Hyrule, a light began to shine very brightly, as if from nowhere. And then, almost as suddenly as it had begun, it died out, and in its place were three girls. Midna, Aura, and Zelda to be more exact. They were all in a daze, wondering what had just occurred.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what just happened?" panicked Aura.

"How should I know, it's your pendant!" shouted Midna in response.

"Well, technically, it's yours…"

"I didn't even know my stupid tear would crystallize afterwards! Let alone know all of its powers!"

"Some Twilight Princess you turned out to be then!"

Zelda intervened. "Oh, would you two be quiet for a moment and just look at _where we are_?"

Aura and Midna stopped their quarrel and looked all around them. The walls were high and made of sandstone and clay. A hot, dry wind blew around them. The sky showed through a large opening where a roof should have been. Six large pillars, each bearing upon it a symbol of one of the sages, protruded from the ground. And in front of them was a large mirror frame with a small set of steps leading down from it.

"You really _did_ shatter the mirror…" breathed Aura, half to herself and half to Midna.

"You didn't believe me in the first place?" asked Zelda.

"Nah, I believed you…it's just that I never truly fathomed that it could happen," Aura responded softly. "It's just so hard to imagine…and to see it destroyed like this…in my time, this was always in top shape. It's just hard for me to take in the fact that in another time…in the past, no less, the mirror is gone…"

Zelda nodded at Aura. "So, Aura, do you know where we are? To me, this place is so familiar, but what about you? Did either of your parents ever tell you about this place?"

Aura looked up at Zelda. "I think that I know…though I've never been here before myself."

Midna sighed and crossed her arms. "Well, would you look at that? How do you suppose we ended up in the Arbiter's Grounds?"

Zelda shook her head. "It probably has to do with the tear. This was where you used it to shatter the mirror, so maybe Aura's future tear teleported us here in response to the energy that is emanating from your tear."

"So…it's acting like a magnet?" asked Midna, raising an eyebrow.

Zelda nodded. "I believe so."

Aura's pendant began to glow again and float gently, then violently away from her chest. "It's trying to pull itself away from me!" Aura gasped, trying to hold the tear down.

"Follow it's lead, maybe we'll find the other tear!" commanded Zelda.

"Alright, whatever you say!" replied Aura as she began to follow where the pendant was dragging her.

zzz

Link could finally see clearly. He could tell that he was in a wooden prison of some sort. There was a dank, musty smell all around him. It looked so familiar…it seemed so familiar…like he had been here before. It was on the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn't seem to remember…

On top of that, it seemed like it had been hours that he had been just sitting here in the dry, uncomfortable heat with his mind in a fog. But he had a feeling it had been much, much shorter than that.

Though his head was still spinning a quite bit, he felt it was about time he stood up and stretched his legs. It had been ages since the last time he had awoken so early. He stood up and raised his arms to the ceiling, feeling the blood rush from his head, resulting in a temporary state of blindness and nausea. Though, the nausea could have been easily caused by Link's sudden awareness of the smell of a rotting carcass.

When the nausea died down, he checked his body to see if he still had his sword. He did. "Good, those Moblins really are as stupid as they look. That will make this so much easier to get out of here." Then he smiled half-heartedly and unsheathed his sword, swinging it around twice to get the feel of it again. After all, it had been a year since he'd used it in any _serious_ combat. "Come on, Ilia, we're busting out of here."

No response.

"Ilia?" He turned around and saw that Ilia was not there. What he had mistaken for his beloved friend while his head was cloudy was something terrible…something frightening…something…undead…

"Oh, crap, a ReDead!" he shouted, his face now filled with fear. He was momentarily immobilized, the mere shock from mistaking a ReDead for Ilia and Ilia not even being there coursing through his body. His heart was beating so hard from shock that he could have sworn the monster could hear it.

Just then, the ReDead awoke and let out a blood curdling shriek. Link was frozen in place. He cursed himself for letting his guard down.

"Damn it, I swear that stupid scream is magic! I can't move my legs!" Link struggled to move his body, but to no avail. Then, seemingly with no other possibilities, he screamed out at the top of his lungs.

Then the rotting mass threw itself at him, grabbing hold of him tightly, all the while making hideous sucking and screeching sounds. It began to claw at him and bite his hair, its eyeless sockets glowing red with every second of torment it brought to Link. It's cracked, dried-out nails dug into his skin, tearing his flesh to the bone. Blood stained both the creature and Link's tunic.

Link just kept screaming.

The foul smell of the creature wafted all around him, causing him to be very dizzy. He finally regained his ability to move now that the shrieking had stopped, but it was too late. He had lost too much blood. He could feel himself slipping from consciousness as he stabbed the ReDead through with his sword, bringing it up and then down with a sickening sound of tearing flesh as he threw it off of his body.

The last thing he saw before he fell to the ground was the ReDead topple over and explode in a plume of purple-black smoke.

And then there was nothing…nothing but the total pitch-black of darkness.

A/N: I am so sorry I have not been able to update! I actually finished this chapter around six days ago, but the website for some strange reason would not let me post it! Please forgive me! I hope this wasn't too much of an inconvenience for anyone.


	9. Rage, Fear, and Tears

Chapter Nine: Rage, Fear, and Tears

Ilia jumped up. She had heard a scream. Not just any scream, but _his_ scream. It was Link. And he wasn't too far away. Her entire body was filled with fear and sorrow at the same time. Was he in danger? Was his life on the line? Could she do anything about it?

Ilia looked frightfully at the shabby, rotting wooden door, and then down at her hands. She began to tremble. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, followed by a weak, terror-filled smile. Yes, she _could_ do something about it.

"What's a few splinters compared to losing him?" She took another deep breath and backed up a few steps. Then she let out a loud cry as she took a running start and slammed herself into the door, smashing right through it like it was only a few wayward bushes.

Her arms were now bloody, however, and there were pieces of wood sticking out of her wounds. "Ouch…that's definitely more than just a few splinters…"

Ilia tried as hard as she could to laugh the pain away as she began to tear the thick splinters from her body…that is, until she felt hot, sticky breath down her back. She turned around and saw a strange, pig-like humanoid monster atop a huge boar, aiming a flaming arrow at her.

She gasped and took off running. "Oh, crap, not again! No more arrows, please!" As she ran, memories of the day she was kidnapped from Ordon Village along with the other children flooded into her mind. "No more arrows…please, no more arrows!" Sharp, deadly, flaming and non-flaming arrows flung in the air around her, missing her by only a small margin.

She kept running, following the sounds of Link's pain-filled screams, passed heavy wooden fences and other monsters. She jumped over splintering wood, blood streaming from all sorts of gashes and wounds on her body.

And then the sound stopped. She could hear his cries no longer.

She paused for a moment, listening intently to her surroundings to hear if Link would begin screaming again. She could hear fire crackling all around her, the result of the poorly-aimed flaming arrows…she could hear the grunts and squeals of the monsters and their boars…she could hear wood crashing to the ground as it fell over from it's own weight…but she could not hear Link's voice.

She began to panic. "No!" she screamed. "Am I too late? Too late to save you?!" she began to cry out even louder. Suddenly, she was filled with a burning rage. She picked up the nearest lump of wood and began smashing anything that even closely resembled a door. Anything that would help her find Link. Anything at all…

"Link!" cried Ilia over and over again, cynical tears streaming down her face. She would not accept the possibility that he was dead. She could not accept the possibility that she had failed him.

zzz

Aura kept following the pendant that was tugging her around. "What if it's just leading me in circles?!" she asked Zelda impatiently.

"Just trust me, Aura, I believe it will lead you to the other Tear! Just be patient!"

"How am I supposed to be patient if the damn thing keeps tugging me around?!" whined Aura as she was pulled viciously in the opposite direction she had just been heading, followed by an unsteady "Whoa!"

Midna let out a small chuckle. "How many times am I going to have to tell you to watch your mouth?"

Aura scowled at Midna as she was jerked in yet another direction. "It's not funny! And how many times do I have to tell you that you aren't my mom?"

"Yet, you mean," added the Twilight Princess.

"Not at all, if we're stuck here much longer…" sighed Zelda, her energy from before seemingly drained.

"What do you mean?" asked Midna.

"Just now…didn't you hear it?" breathed Zelda, almost in a whisper.

"Hear what? I didn't hear anything…" Midna was getting very confused, but she trusted Zelda above anyone…even above herself. She didn't doubt the fellow princess, but how could Zelda have heard something that she herself did not?

The two princesses were interrupted by a loud, happy shriek. "Look, look, you guys, I found it! Princess Zelda, you were right, it did lead me to the other tear!

"How come you address Zelda by her full title, but not me?" asked Midna.

Aura just stuck her tongue out at her.

Zelda and Midna rushed over to where Aura was standing. Her pendant was glowing even brighter than before, and an identical gem was floating very close to it, and moving closer with every second. The two tears then merged and sent off an enormous amount of light.

"Amazing…" breathed Zelda.

"Why did it do that?" asked Midna.

"I don't know, but it sure was neat," replied Aura, now holding the brightly shining pendant in her hands. The glow was not fading. "Though I don't know why it's still glowing. Maybe something's happening to it?"

Midna jerked her head up. "Smoke," she said hastily.

"Smoke? What do you mean, smoke?" asked Zelda.

"I smell it, don't you? Something nearby is burning…I smell it, it's so strong!" and she turned around and started running towards the opening that looked over the desert.

Zelda and Aura quickly followed her and looked out at the desert as well. It was true; there were huge billows of smoke all throughout the camps of Ganon's minions. Everything looked like it was up in flames, and if it wasn't yet, it soon would be.

Zelda gasped. "Oh my gods…what happened?"

Midna shook her head, her eyes wide in horror. "I don't know, Zelda…I just don't know…"

zzz

Four guards walked into Telma's bar, one of them holding the strange note written in ancient Hylian. They marched up to the counter and held out the note.

Telma looked up at them from cleaning a glass. "And what do you no-good sons of pigs want me to do with this here piece of Cucco-scratch?"

The guard who was holding the note shuffled his feet. "We're looking for a man who goes by the name of Shad. We heard that he often hangs around at your bar. Have you seen him around of late? It is of utmost importance."

"Shad? You mean the scholar, right?" replied Telma, cocking and eyebrow at them.

"Yes, the scholar. Where is he, if you know?"

"Haven't seen him. He just up and left a few days ago. Don't know where he was headed or when he'll be back," Telma replied as she crossed her arms.

"That's a shame. It seems that our dear Princess is lost forever then."

Telma suddenly jerked up, her eyes widened. "What do you mean the princess is lost? What happened?"

The guard smiled, happy that he had now captured her full attention.

zzz

Aura looked down at her hands and shrieked.

Zelda turned around. "What is it?"

"I'm…I'm…" Aura stuttered, her voice trembling uncontrollably. "I'm disappearing!"

It was true, Aura was glowing with the light of the tear pendant, and she was becoming see-through. Midna kneeled down and tried too put a hand on Aura's shoulder to console her, but she just fell through her, startled.

"What's going on here?" asked Zelda, her voice holding a trace of unfamiliar fear. Midna had never heard Zelda speak with even the slightest amount of fear in her voice before.

"I don't know! I just…know…that…I'm…" and then she faded all the way. She was absolutely gone, without a trace. All that was left was the Silver Tear pendant as it clanked to the ground after Aura had disappeared.

Midna's eyes filled with tears. "Aura!" she cried out. "Aura, where did you go?" She struck the ground with her fist, only to hurt herself in the process. Zelda kneeled down next to her and put her arms over her shoulders, picking up the Silver Tear and putting it around Midna's neck.

"Midna, we just have to…stay calm…everything's going to be...just fine…" But Midna could tell that Zelda didn't even believe her own words. The desert was in flames, Link and Ilia were still missing, Moblins had reappeared in Hyrule, and now…most devastating of all…Aura had disappeared.


	10. It's All Over

Chapter Ten: It's All Over

Aura was still screaming when she opened her eyes to darkness. It was cold, wherever she was, and she could see nothing except for her own body. This was considerably strange, especially since she could see it quite clearly, as if she was standing in the light. It was very quiet where she was. If you had dropped a pin, and if there was even a ground-like substance in this place, you could have definitely heard it. Aura decided it would be best if she stopped making so much noise.

She stopped screaming and reached down to her neck to feel if the pendant was still there. But she felt nothing. When her hand moved towards her skin, it went right through. She was nothing more than air!

She perked up in shock, her hands twitching uncontrollably. "Midna?" she cried out into the nothingness. "Princess Zelda? Anyone?!?" she began to panic, until she heard a familiar voice.

"There's another one here? I thought that I was all alone," the man said. "I heard a noise, and I ran to it as fast as I could. I didn't expect another person to be here."

Aura turned around and saw none other than a handsome, blonde haired, blue eyed man in an old green tunic, with a look of relief on his face so great, it drowned out all of Aura's fears…but in place of her panic, curiosity strongly took hold.

"Father?"

zzz

She had done it. Ilia had finally found him. Link was laying face-first on the ground, sprawled out in what looked to be a very uncomfortable position. In fact, it looked like he wouldn't even be able to breathe while he was lying like that. She rushed over to him and immediately moved his body so that his face was no longer buried in the sand. She wrapped her arms around his body and dragged him up on her lap.

Ilia held Link's bloody, motionless frame in her arms. She shook him, gently at first. "Hey…Link, wake up." And then she shook him with more force. "Come on, say something…" She put a hand to his face and jumped…it was so…

"Link, damn you, wake up! Wake up!" She brushed a stray lock of his hair from his face, and looked at his pale coloration. He was so…cold.

Ilia's tears began to fall on Link's face. "You can't leave me! Please, wake up! You're supposed to be a hero! How could you be dead?" She started to slap his face in a futile attempt to awaken him. "Come on! Just open your eyes! Twitch your fingers!"

She began to trace her fingers up and down his neck in an attempt to find a pulse…if only a faint one. "Anything! Give me a sign, please! You have to be alive!"

But there was none. No blood was pulsing through his dead, dried-up veins. He was gone. There was nothing that Ilia could do to bring him back.

New tears began to fill Ilia's eyes. She clung to Link's dead body even tighter. "You can't leave me yet! How am I supposed to get home without you?" She started pounding the sand with her fists. "What am I supposed to tell everyone back home?" She began to cry even harder and hold onto him with her other arm even tighter than before. "I never even got to tell you…I never got to tell you how I felt!" She cried into his chest, getting her cheeks splattered with his blood. "Link…I love you! Wake up, I love you, I love you!"

But he did not wake up. No matter how much she screamed out his name or confessed her love, he did not even so much as stir. And Ilia did not stop crying. Fire crackled all around behind them and in the distance, but it did not dare enter where they were. It was as if somewhere, someone higher up was giving them one last reprieve. The wind kept blowing, the sun continued to rise higher into the sky as morning died away, and life elsewhere kept on moving in the same way…or so it seemed…

Link had fallen, and somewhere very close, his fall had brought about the rise of someone else. And this time, Link would not be there to stop him. Was this it? Was this the end?

zzz

"I see that now you're willing to lend us an ear," said the guard, waving the letter playfully in front of Telma's face.

Telma scowled at the guard. "Two ears, if you please. Now stop that, it's terribly distracting!" She reached out an arm and tore the note from the guard's hand, and let out a brief chuckle.

The guard made an angry face at Telma, but the frown was quickly replaced with an insincere smile. "I'd be happy to share with you my information on the whereabouts of the princess as long as you are willing to share your information on the whereabouts of Mr. Shad," he said as he snatched the letter back from the woman.

"Why you no good…I told you already! I don't know where he is! He just took off, didn't say a word! He didn't leave a note or anything! He just took off!" Her voice was filled with anger and desperation.

The guard shook his head playfully. "Tsk tsk tsk…" he said, waving a finger back and forth as if he was scolding a small child. "I guess I can't tell you my half of the story. We'll be taking our leave now." He motioned for the other guards to start heading out.

"Bastards," Telma mumbled under her breath.

The guard turned and faced her. "What was that?"

"Nothing," replied Telma as she turned her head away.

"That's what I thought. Come on, men." And with that, they turned to exit the bar…when the door suddenly swung open.

"I'm back!" the man said, cheerfully, his arms full of scrolls, books, and quill pens. Then he opened his eyes and saw the guards. He looked towards Telma. "Miss Telma? What's going on? There's not trouble again, is there?"

Telma's ears perked up at the sound of the man's voice. She looked over at the man. "Shad…Shad, it's you! It's really you!"

"Well of course it's me, who else could I be?" he replied, still as clueless as ever. He pushed his glasses up on his face with his one free hand as he repositioned the scholarly materials on his hip.

"You're back!" Then she put on a devilish grin and began to address the guards. "You'd better be staying for a while. And explain until everything is clear."

The guard weakly smiled, flinching at the new tone in the woman's voice. Shad had a look of utter confusion on his face. This was very unusual for him, as he was usually the bright, witty one of the bunch.

"Why don't the sorry lot of you make yourselves comfortable? You won't be getting out of her for quite some time."

zzz

Deep, cold-hearted laughter could be heard echoing throughout the entire structure of the Arbiter's Grounds. Laughter that was so familiar it was frightening. Midna and Zelda were frozen in place as they listened fearfully to the laughter of the one man who they now knew was behind it all…

"How did he come back?" asked Midna in a half-whisper, her voice slightly quavering.

"I don't know. Never in the history of Hyrule has he come back for more in the same generation before…this is very unexpected…" replied Zelda.

"Do you think he was behind Aura's disappearance?"

"I don't know."

"What do we do now?"

"We have to get out of here…and I mean now."

"But what about Aura?"

"She's gone!"

"But what if she's…?"

"Midna, it hurts me just as much as it hurts you that she has vanished…but no matter how hard we search for her here, we will not find her. What matters most is that we find a way out of here before Ganondorf finds us."

Footsteps began to echo out behind them. Louder and louder they became as the Desert man approached.

Midna tensed her entire body, sensing his presence before he even got to them. Then the laughter started up again.

Ganondorf's malicious voice began to boom throughout the area. "It looks like I've found you, my little renegade princess! And it seems like your shadow is here too! What an unexpected turn of events. I thought I had killed that brat before. It matters not. She'll just have to die by my hands for a second time!"

The two princesses looked up at Ganondorf, their eyes full of fear.

Ganondorf looked around and began to laugh again. "Too bad for you, your little hero isn't here to rescue you this time!" Then, although it was obvious that he clearly knew something about it that the two girls did not, he sarcastically added, "I wonder what could have happened to him?"

It seemed like this was it. This was the end.


	11. Impossibilities

Chapter Eleven: Impossibilities

"Father?" asked Aura, full of curiosity and surprise. She reached her hands out to touch his face, but her arms could not stretch far enough. She wasn't standing close enough to him. She brought her hands back to her chest and looked away in embarrassment.

"Father?" asked the man in the green tunic, right back at her. "I think you have me confused for someone else. You are that strange Twili girl from the other day, right? I'm sorry…it's not that I think you're strange it's just…"

Aura looked down at her feet. "I am. And it's my eyes that make me strange, am I wrong? People have always told me I have my father's eyes… But that is unimportant…you are Link, right?" she asked.

"Yes, I am. Do you know where we are? I remember getting attacked by a ReDead, and then passing out…and then when I woke up, I was here…and…nothing more than a ghost. Tell me…am I dead?"

And then it hit Aura like an angry Goron elder who hadn't visited the hot springs in over thirty years…she was dead. They were both dead. The reason she had disappeared wasn't because of the light of the fused silver tear, but because her future father had died, and she had vanished from existence right along with him…but things still didn't make sense.

If this was where dead people went…how come there were only the two of them? And why was she even here in the first place? Since Link was dead, she had technically never even been born in the first place, which means that she could have never died because she had never lived…oh, this was so confusing…

zzz

The guards quickly took their seats at the table in the far corner, fearing Telma's wrath. She was a scary woman when she was mad…or having fun torturing the soldiers of Hyrule for that matter. They could just imagine her…looming menacingly over them, grinning an evil grin; cackling an evil cackle; and wielding some kind of kitchen utensil that she could use to inflict bodily harm on them…oh, how she made shivers run down their cowardly spines…even though she had never actually done any of those things before.

"Now, boys, why don't you tell me more about what's happened to the princess?" asked Telma, pouring the syrupy sweetness onto her words so heavily it could make you sick. She turned her face to Shad, who gulped nervously. The guards weren't the only ones who were afraid of Telma when she was angry…

"Shad, dear, why don't you take a seat, too? Make yourself comfortable." She started tapping her nails on the counter top.

"Yes, Telma, ma'am," he breathed out as he quickly scurried to his seat, trying hard not to drop any of his books or scrolls on the way to the table. He plopped them all down on the table top not long after he had taken a seat.

"Now, boys, you came all this way looking for Shad, why don't you tell the good man what it is you wanted from him?"

One of the soldiers fumbled around in his armor a bit, trying to locate the note he had shoved in there for safe keeping. After a few awkward moments, he finally dug it out and handed it to Shad. "This note was found in one of the Princess's guest rooms. And that room had been utterly destroyed as well. Nothing but the bed was left in one piece. It is written in ancient Hylian…we had assumed that you could help us?"

Telma walked over to them and stood over the soldier who was holding the note, putting a hand on his armored shoulder. The guard tensed up at her touch. "Now, now, so the room was destroyed. You lazy good for nothing sons of cows weren't doing your jobs. But that still doesn't answer my question: what happened to the Princess?"

The soldiers shot angry looks towards Telma.

Shad took the note from the guard's outstretched hand and began to read it. "It says here: What once was will be once more; the pitch black doom strays through the door. The blood of thee who hath slain me shall pour upon the ground; and no matter how you search, will your princess be found."

Telma cocked an eyebrow. "She's been kidnapped?"

Shad put his hand up. "Wait, there's more. It says: The Moblins come, the light will go; and darker days you'll never know. The king of Shadows hath return and dealt a mighty blow. The days of Hyrule soon shall end; you've lost the blood of your dear friend."

"Your dear friend?" asked Telma. "You don't think it could mean…?"

Shad stood up from his chair so fast that it flew backwards and tipped over as he slammed his fists into the table, completely out of character. "Link! They're going to kill Link! Either that, or they already have!"

The soldiers were bewildered. "What's going on?" shouted one of them.

Telma shouted over them, "They're going to resurrect Ganondorf! With the blood of the hero who had vanquished him… They're going to use Link to bring him back!"

Shad immediately opened his books and began frantically flipping through the pages. "Where is it…where, where…ah! Here it is. It says here…that the eternal darkness will never return twice within the same generation of the hero…unless the blood of the hero is used to bring back the darkness's mortal form. And to make the seal complete…they would need to use the blood of the Princess as well."

One of the soldiers stood up from the table and slammed his palms to the top. "Who is planning to sacrifice our princess?"

Shad turned to the soldiers. "Perhaps this story is best saved for another time. But you would do best to send every last of your able-bodied men to the Gerudo Desert as soon as possible." He then turned to Telma. "Telma, could you send for the other members of the resistance on the double? I shall be on my way to warn the people of Kakariko."

Telma nodded, and everyone scurried around to do what was required of them…

zzz

Zelda and Midna stared at Ganondorf, who was slowly approaching them and laughing madly.

Zelda turned to Midna. "You can pull yourself into the shadows, am I wrong?"

"Zelda, I can pull myself into the shadows, but I can't pull us both at once! I am unable to pull one who dwells in the light into the shadows!"

"You have to try!"

"I can't! It is impossible!"

"Call upon the powers of the Silver Tear! Maybe its power will blend with your own, and you will be able to pull me too! Please, Midna, we must escape from him! Or the prophecy will surely come true!"

"What prophecy? Zelda, what have you been hiding from me?"

"Please!" Zelda grabbed tightly onto Midna, pleading with all of her heart.

Midna held onto the tear with all of her strength, forcing her concentration around it. She tried to pull herself into the darkness, but she could not…she would not let herself go without Zelda. She squinted her eyes and focused harder on the power of the tear. Slowly, but surely, the two of them began to sink into the shadows.

Ganondorf noticed, and ran towards them. He tried to grab the two princesses, but his body was forced back by a bright light that had suddenly shown forth from the tear. The force was so great that his entire body was sent flying into the frame of what was once the Twilight Mirror, knocking both it and himself over.

Just as he began to pick himself up again, the two girls sank deeply into the shadows. He was unable to follow them. It was then that he bellowed a great, angry roar…

zzz

Ilia heard what sounded like a man's roar. It was filled with anger…and hatred. The fire was still raging around her and her fallen hero, but not nearly as bad as it had been. Long had it been since her tears had stopped falling and her eyes had run dry. She held Link closer to her body now, as if to protect it from whoever was roaring.

Just then, a somehow familiar man appeared behind her from the flames. He was masked…but she could somehow sense that she had met him before…

"I came as soon as I got news from the others. What's happened here?" he asked in a gruff voice.

Ilia _knew_ that voice. She turned around, still holding Link in her arms. "Rusl?" she gasped.

Rusl gasped and threw off his mask. "Ilia! How did you get here?! What has happened to you?!" And then he turned his head to look down at Link. He saw the young man's blood-stained body…his lifeless face… "What has happened to Link?!"

He quickly knelt down and took Link's body from her arms. It was cold and heavy. He put his ear to Link's motionless chest…only to hear nothing. "He isn't…really dead, is he?" he asked softly, partly to Ilia and partly to himself.

Ilia grabbed onto Rusl's shirt with one hand. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"It's a long story. And we don't have time. To make a long story short, the princess has been kidnapped…or so we assume…and I have been personally requested to help rescue her."

Ilia was suddenly angered. "The princess? You mean no one in the entire village realized that it was Link and I who had been kidnapped?"

Rusl looked at her with questioning eyes. "Ilia, you were even in the village when I left only a few hours ago. I myself have no idea how both you and Link could have gotten here before I did."

Ilia's eyes grew wide. "What do you mean?!"

_A/N: Wow, I had really expected a lot more complaints from people for killing off Link. Oh well. Just so everyone knows, this story is nearing the end very soon. It's actually going on for a lot longer than I had originally planned...but I wanted to add a twist. And I needed Mr. Baddie to make an appearence so this whole story wouldn't seem like meaningless fluff._


	12. Suffocation

Chapter Twelve: Suffocation

Midna and Zelda were huddled together in the shadows. While Midna was perfectly fine, for she herself was a princess of the darkness, Zelda was suffering. While Midna could see clearly, Zelda was blind. Where Midna could hear with ease, Zelda was deaf. And where Midna could breathe…

"Zelda!" she cried out.

Princess Zelda was clutching her throat, desperately gasping for breath. Because she was not from the darkness, she could not be part of it. And now she was suffocating.

"Zelda, hold on!"

Zelda, using every ounce of strength in her body, nodded her head slowly at Midna in a desolate response. She was going very pale…even for her normally fair complexion; her face was becoming frightfully pallor.

Midna dragged Zelda and herself down the precipitous walls of the Arbiter's grounds…down, down into the desert below, and away from Ganondorf. She felt her stomach make a full loop in her gut as the two of them dropped…but she knew that they would be cushioned by the darkness. She only wondered if Zelda could hang on for that long…

Zelda was making horrible gasping noises. Midna knew that her lungs were being crushed by the dense pressure of the shadows, and she didn't know how much longer the princess of light could hold on to life while she was in this thick darkness. "Zelda, please, hold on. Just a little longer, we're going to make it! I promise!" Zelda could not even manage so much as a nod of the head this time around.

As soon as they reached the sand, Midna pulled Zelda and herself out of the shadows and into the light. They had escaped from Ganondorf…at least for the time being.

Midna tried as hard as she could to keep her stomach inside of her…she had pulled out of the shadows and into the blinding light far too fast for her body to handle. But she would be alright, even if she had thrown up. But Zelda…she lay motionless on the ground, not breathing. She had finally collapsed from the pressure, even though she was now in the realm of light.

"Zelda!" cried Midna, taking deep breaths between her words in an attempt to get the oxygen flowing to her brain properly again. She dropped herself to the ground and put her head to Zelda's chest, desperately searching for a heart-beat.

In Midna's frenzied panic, at first it seemed like Zelda had none…but then, after calming herself down for a few moments, she could feel a faint thumping. Zelda was alive! But for how much longer? Midna did not know how to restore a breathless person to life, and she did not know how much longer Zelda could go on living without breath…

zzz

"We are dead…aren't we?" asked Link, sighing regretfully. He slumped down to the ground, or whatever there was that served as the floor beneath them, and put his hands to his forehead, pushing back his long, blonde bangs. "I…I never thought that it could have ended like that…"

"No! Don't lose hope yet…there's a small possibility that…" Aura began to say, but then she was cut off by Link.

"Small possibility of what? That we aren't really dead? Just look at me, my body doesn't have a scratch on it!"

"What does that have to do with anything?" she cried in frustration.

"I was…I bled to death. I was attacked by a ReDead."

"If you had really died, I would not be here…because I would not have been born in the first place!"

"What do you mean?"

Aura shook her head and walked closer to Link. "No, you wouldn't have died from that. From a servant of darkness as simple as that, you would not have fallen. My father would not have fallen!"

"Why do you keep calling me your father?"

"Because that's who you are!"

Link stopped for a moment and tried to recollect his thoughts. The girl had said that people always told her that she had her father's eyes…that she was only a half-breed…could she be telling the truth? But that would mean that she would have to have been born almost ten years ago, and back then, not only was he in his mere pre-teen days, but he did not even know such a thing as the Twili people existed. Even if she had been born only recently and grown at an alarming rate, which was highly unlikely, there was still a problem with that theory. And besides, as much as he hated to admit it, he was still a…okay, let's not get into that kind of talk.

"Are you telling me the truth?" he asked her.

Aura shook her head angrily. "Yes, yes, of course I am! Listen, I know you may be wondering how that's even possible…but that's because I'm from the future."

"How did you get back to our time then?"

"It's a long story."

"Seeing as how we are both potentially dead, I think we have plenty of time."

"It's a gruesome story."

"I've seen some pretty gruesome things in my life."

"Midna's my mother."

And that shut him up. His eyes widened, and his mouth hung partially open. This knowledge had hit him pretty hard, but it didn't seem like it was easily sinking in. It was a little too much for him to handle. Midna was the mother? The Twilight Princess herself? The woman who had left him to shatter that stupid Twilight Mirror?

But then he got thinking back to the last words she had said to him…It was so clear in his mind…

"Link, I…see you later…" And that was when she destroyed the only pathway between their worlds…

Then again, she was with him in his room the other day. Even though the mirror was gone, Midna had still appeared before him, in the flesh. In her true form. Her radiating beauty touching him even then. A princess of darkness could not have possibly fallen in love and had a child with a mere human…one who dwelt in the light…could she? This feeling in his heart…it felt like suffocation.

"Tell me everything," he finally said.

"Alright," replied Aura, shrugging her shoulders. "Suit yourself."

zzz

"What do you mean we were still there in Ordon?" cried Ilia. "Link and I have been gone since just passed noon yesterday!" Her heart was thudding against her ribs as her entire body began to bubble with fear.

Rusl let out a deep breath. "I mean exactly what I said. Everything was perfectly normal. You were yelling at farm-boy over there for being so harsh with Epona…"

Ilia gasped and brought her hands to her face. "Epona! I forgot all about her! I left her at the castle!"

"What do you mean?" asked Rusl. "Epona was there in the village, too. Link was even using her to help Fado heard those rascal goats again."

Ilia shook her head. "No, something is definitely wrong. Link and I took Epona and headed off to castle town…"

"Why were you even going to castle town in the first place?"

"These two…I don't know what they were, some kind of shadow-girls I suppose, just took Link and were leading him out of the village. And…it seemed like he knew them. One of them, anyways."

"So you followed them?"

"Naturally. I was afraid that they were going to take him away and have him go on some other frightful adventure…"

Rusl moved over to Ilia and hugged her in an attempt to console her. "Oh, Ilia…I know how you must have felt, but you should know that Link can handle himself on things like that."

Ilia pulled out of the embrace. "Then explain that!" she screamed, pointing towards her fallen hero. "He's dead now, and…and it's all my fault!"

"Ilia…"

"Don't tell me this isn't my fault! Because it is! I couldn't…save him…" she looked at her feet. "I couldn't save him in time… Because of me, Link died!"

Rusl looked solemnly at Link's dead body again. "Ilia…I know how close the two of you were…" He himself was trying as hard as he could to hold his tears back.

"I loved him!" she screamed. Rusl looked at her, and she quickly covered her mouth. Just as Rusl was about to say something more, the two of them heard a woman screaming.

"Zelda!" was what the woman was screaming. "Breathe, oh, please don't die on me!"

"Quick, come with me," he told Ilia. "I think that was my cue. That must be whoever was with the princess."

Ilia nodded, and the two of them ran towards where the voice was coming from, leaving Link's body behind.


	13. Acceptance of Fate

Chapter Thirteen: Acceptance of Fate

Rusl and Ilia ran as fast as they could towards the area where the woman's voice was calling out. Ash and sand was being kicked up all around them, getting in their eyes and their mouths as they panted for breath, but they just kept running. The life of the princess was on the line here, and she was top priority. She had to be protected, no matter what frivolous discomforts the two Ordonians suffered.

Midna was holding tightly onto Zelda's hands, her eyes filled with tears. "Come on!" she cried. "Wake up! I promised we'd make it, and I swear to the gods that if you made me break my promise I'll…" but then she stopped, for she heard two people running up behind them. It was none other than Rusl, that man from Ordon that was part of the resistance, and Ilia…wait a minute, Ilia?!

"We heard you screaming…and something about the princess? What's happened?" asked Rusl, half of his voice filled with concern while the other half tried to mask it.

"She's not breathing," she said quite calmly, though tears were falling fast. "She's alive, but only barely…she couldn't handle the darkness. Please…do you know how to help? Can you help me? Please!"

Ilia kneeled down towards Princess Zelda. She felt the area at her neck where the blood would pulse through. She let out a sigh of relief. "Yes, the princess is still alive. But if we don't do something soon, she won't even be that anymore. We can't lose her…not her, too."

Midna moved aside as Rusl took her place, watching him and Ilia fumble around in Rusl's bags in an attempt to find something useful.

"I…think I can do something," said Rusl. "I learned it from the Zoras a long time ago…" He leaned over the princess and pulled a lump out of his pouch. He stuck what looked like an old, dried up fish in her mouth. It smelled absolutely awful, one could only imagine how badly it tasted. Midna suddenly remembered the Reek fish that Link had caught on their journey together. Was this the same kind of fish?

Soon, the Triforce symbol on the princess's hand began to glow. Quite brightly, in fact. Midna jumped. Could it be because the Triforce was restoring Zelda's life force, like Ganondorf's had done for him? Or was her Triforce reacting to the other pieces? Midna did not know whether to be worried or glad…

Suddenly, Zelda jumped up with a start, coughing and sputtering. Rusl handed her a canteen of water, which the princess gulped down…very un-lady-like, but she just had to get that terrible taste out of her mouth.

"Are you alright, princess?" asked Ilia.

"Yes, I am quite alright, thank you for asking…Ilia?!" replied Zelda. "Ilia, how did you get here? And where is Link? Wasn't he with you?"

"Well…that's a long story actually…"

Midna started to speak now. "If you're here…Link must be somewhere here, too, right? Is Link here? Tell me where he is, if you know!"

Ilia turned her head to face Midna, and then looked away. "I…may not know how you knew Link…but before I answer your question…can I ask your name?"

"It's Midna. What's happened?" she asked as she saw Ilia fighting tears away. Midna began to worry.

"Link is…he's…well, he's dead…" she said in a half-whisper.

Midna blanched. It wasn't possible…it just wasn't possible! She brought her hands to her mouth to muffle a cry of anguish. Nothing around her seemed as though it was there…it was just her and her unbearable sorrow.

Zelda put her hand on Midna's shoulder, which snapped the Twilight Princess out of her hysteria. "Midna…I think I know why Ganondorf is back. There is a legend of my people that the darkness will never return twice in the same generation. However, if the remaining servants of the darkness can manage to take the blood of the Hero who had slain their master, the darkness would become embodied once more."

"Then why were you dragged into all of this?" Midna asked her.

"Well…aside from the fact that I'm the princess, and ever since ancient times it has been the princess who the bad things befall…I am the one who carries the final piece of the Triforce." Just as she said this, her hand began glowing with the symbol of the Triforce, even brighter than before.

Out of the corner of her eye, Midna saw Zelda wince. Was it causing her pain?

"In order to complete the seal, he would need the blood of one of the Royal family members. And of course, he would want the Triforce that I hold as well… and since Link is dead, he has surely acquired his piece as well. I am what he needs."

"Then that gives us all the more reason to protect you!" Rusl said.

"Thank you for the offer…but Ganondorf can not be killed until he becomes whole. He is…if the legend is correct…only a shadow as of yet. No form of magic or weaponry can smite him as he is now."

Ilia turned towards Zelda. "What can we do?"

Zelda took a deep breath and sighed. "I trust you all…Ilia, you have great courage…and judging from your wounds, you must have fought very hard up until this point. Rusl…not only have you dedicated your life to protecting my country through your involvement with the resistance, but you have helped our fallen hero more than anyone else he's ever known."

And then, almost sadly, she turned to face Midna, and put her gloved hand on her face and wiped away her tears. "And Midna…you are my soul sister, and the true Twilight Princess. You've given Link courage, and strength…and you've gotten us all out of some pretty awful trouble in the past. Though you deceived all of us when you were hiding your identity, it was only to protect those around you. You have sacrificed your life to save both of our worlds, and you had the strength of heart to destroy the Twilight Mirror once and for all. You, perhaps, I trust above anyone else."

"What are you saying?" cried Midna. She dove into Zelda and smothered her in a tearful hug. She sobbed into the princess's shoulder as Zelda returned the hug, trying her very best to comfort her friend. Rusl and Ilia watched this tender scene like it was the most tragic thing in the universe.

"I'm saying…that I will gladly go to my death if I know that it will mean Ganondorf's defeat."

zzz

Link let out a deep breath that he hadn't know he'd been holding. "You weren't kidding. You've had a…hard life, haven't you?"

"It isn't easy being chosen by the sages to do the impossible," replied Aura. "And now, because of what I've done, both worlds are going to end."

Link put his hand to his face. "But that still doesn't answer one question. Why are we the only ones here if we're dead? Shouldn't there be hundreds of other spirits wandering around, just like us?"

Aura nodded and rested her chin on her balled-up fist, even though she couldn't feel herself doing so. "Exactly. That's why I think there's still a chance that we aren't dead. And if we are, maybe there's a chance that someone could bring us back. Our spirits haven't reached the goddesses quite yet, and so we may still be able to return to life."

"Well, that's good news at least."

"If we aren't brought back soon, however, Ganondorf is sure to find the princess and kill her, too."

"Midna? Or do you mean…"

"Princess Zelda. Ganondorf needs the blood of a member of the Royal family and the blood of the hero who killed him in order to come back. And since she has the golden power within her, as you did, Ganondorf is sure to go after her. And if I'm correct, Midna is with her. And that damned Ilia, too. They must have found her by now."

"Ilia! Oh, how could I have forgotten about her?" he exclaimed as he jumped up.

"Good! You need to forget about her!" said Aura, a little too enthusiastically.

"Aura, she's my best friend!"

"As long as it stays that way, I don't care, but I won't have you endangering my existence and causing some kind of freak paradox to occur or something because of your relation with her. Understood?"

Link stared at Aura for a moment, and then as he understood what she was talking about, he started to laugh.

"What?! What's so funny?"

"Ilia is just a friend. That's all she'll ever be to me. Is that why you've been so hostile towards her?"

Aura blushed from embarrassment. She shouldn't have been jumping to conclusions…she should have trusted in her future parent's love for one another a little bit more. "Yeah…I guess I'm sorry about that."

"You guess?"

But then their chat was interrupted by a shrill screeching sound. Frigid wind began to tug at the two, whipping their clothes and their hair in every which way. They struggled to keep themselves upright. Link was clutching tightly onto his hat.

"What is happening?" cried Aura over the shrieking of the wind.

"How should I know?" Link cried back to her.

They were being pulled away from each other. They began to frantically reach for one another, but to no avail. They were going to be separated.

"Aura!" screamed Link.

"We will meet again! I promise! You will…forget me in time, but it will be alright!"

"How could I forget you?"

"It doesn't matter! But just promise me one thing, okay?!"

"Anything!"

"Take care of my mother!"

"How?"

Aura smiled through her tears. "It looks like my time here is up. Goodbye, Link! It was nice to meet you! Tell Ilia I'm sorry. And tell Midna that everything is going to be alright!"

"But I'm dead!"

"Just trust me!" Aura cried out, before she was finally pulled so far away from Link that she was no longer visible. In fact, as she had been pulled away, she began to fade. Her time in the past was up, and she had to return to her own time. And since there was nothing in her own time, she was being sent directly to her death. But she wasn't afraid.

She had a feeling…a small glimmer of hope inside of her tiny heart…that everything was going to be okay. She had thrown off the course of her future, and now everything would fall into its place in due time.

At least she hoped so.

And then, letting a single tear slip down her vanishing face, Aura disappeared for good.


	14. Awakening

Chapter Fourteen: Awakening

Almost as soon as Aura had disappeared, Link felt his entire non-existent body go cold. He could not move no matter how hard he tried. And soon, he could not blink. His breath was becoming harsh, one rasping gasp after the next. Did he even need breath in this shadow of a form that he was now? His mind sure seemed to function that way. The cold, harsh wind continued to whip around him as he slowly lost consciousness. Was he going to disappear as well? Was his time up, just like Aura's was?

He didn't have much longer to think; as it was then his mind went black. The last thing he remembered was Midna's beautiful, smiling face and Aura's last words.

"Take care of my mother!"

With his last ounce of strength, Link futilely outstretched his arms into the blackness. "I'm…sorry Aura…I couldn't…protect…her…"

And then everything went silent. Silent…and black…

zzz

Zelda bowed her head down to Midna. "Midna, I know this may be a lot to ask of you…but I trust you with this more than anyone on this earth. I would like to entrust the Triforce of Wisdom to you…"

"Zelda! You can't mean it!" Her lower lip began to quiver. Not again, she would not take Zelda's power a second time. This was too much.

Zelda held on tightly to Midna's arms. "You have to be strong for me, okay? This is…important. Do not worry about me, even if I die, I will still live on by the side of the goddesses."

"But, Zelda…"

Ilia and Rusl intervened. "Your highness," began Rusl. "I understand your idea, but isn't this a little rash? Shouldn't we think this through?"

"There is no time."

"Princess, I don't think that it would be wise to give yourself up just yet. Who would stop this evil, even if you did manage to make him whole? Link is dead!"

Princess Zelda turned to face Ilia and Rusl. "You would. You, Rusl, Midna, and anyone else you could manage to get to help you. There is power in many. And if Midna has the power of the Triforce…" she stopped herself mid-sentence. The sound of angry footsteps through sand and gruff breathing could be heard crunching through the area.

"There's no time! Quick, give me your hand!" She reached for Midna's hand and grabbed onto it tightly.

"Let go!" Midna shrieked. But it was too late; Zelda had already begun to transfer the power of the Triforce into Midna. The two of them began to glow. In the middle of the process, Midna passed out. She couldn't handle the sheer amount of power. Ilia and Rusl caught her. Zelda finally let go of Midna's hand.

"Take her away from here. I don't care where, but she must be protected," commanded Princess Zelda.

Ilia and Rusl nodded.

"Get out of here, now!"

The two of them, carrying the Twilight Princess upon their shoulders, ran away as fast as they could. Just as they had gotten out of sight, Zelda felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

"You thought you could get away from me, did you?" The voice was deep, and easily recognizable. It was Ganondorf.

Zelda turned around. "I'll have you know, I won't go down without a fight."

Ganondorf laughed. "I'll have you know that no matter how hard you may try, you can not harm me."

"I know that. But I will fight you nonetheless." Zelda drew her long, elegant sword and entered a fighting stance. Ganondorf materialized the holy sword of light into his hands and motioned towards Zelda to "bring it." This was going to be one hell of a fight.

zzz

Midna awoke in a foggy white area. A place that looked vaguely like a hazy version of Hyrule Castle loomed in the background. "Where am I?" she asked herself, putting a hand to her forehead. But then her hand began to glow. It resonated with the Silver Tear that was hanging around her neck. "Damn it, she really did it…"

Midna sat down on a nearby rock. She was too exhausted to do anything, and too emotionally shaken up to think straight. She had lost too many people in too short a time. First it was Aura, and then Link, and now Zelda.

Link was then in a foggy place that resembled the area his mind usually traveled to when he was being trained by the Hero's Spirit. A silvery shadow of a castle in the distance, the hazy whiteness of everything, it was just so ethereal. It was so beautiful, yet so haunting all at the same time. Link closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. He remembered this place all too well… He turned around; half expecting to meet the skeletal soldier once more, but in his place was Midna, sitting quietly upon a rock.

Link's heart skipped a beat as he walked over to her. He couldn't believe it. Was it really her? Had he truly been able to find her again? He couldn't stand the suspense any longer; he soon began to push himself into a fast-paced walk, and then took to running.

"Midna!" he exclaimed as he ran to her. Her name echoed throughout the quiet area.

Midna looked up at him. "Link! Where are we? Oh, you don't know how happy I am to see you! Ilia…Ilia said you were dead! I thought you had died!" She got up and ran into his arms, tears of happiness streaming down her face and into Link's tunic. She held him tightly, like he was the only thing in the world…the only thing that mattered to her. She traced one of her delicate hands up his back and into the base of his neck, where his partially unkempt golden hair tickled her fingers. She twirled them through his hair lovingly, and then tighter. She couldn't let go. If he were to disappear, she would have died.

"We're in some kind of place I used to go to in order to train. I don't really know exactly where this is though." Link could feel her tears down his back and her fingers in his hair, and he wrapped his arms even tighter around Midna. He inhaled deeply, cherishing the soft scent that he so often associated with twilight. He needed to tell her, but he didn't want to make her hurt even more than she already was. A few more moments he waited, and then he whispered her name into her ear. "Midna?"

Midna continued to twirl her fingers through his hair as she replied. "Link? What is it?"

"Ilia…Ilia was right, you know…"

"You mean…you really are dead?" Her tears stopped and she began to breathe normally again.

"Yes, I…I think I am dead. That's what I don't understand." Midna inhaled deeply, trying to keep her tears back, and began squeezed him tighter. "But…Midna, please don't cry. I don't want to see you like this."

"But it's really you…here in my arms right now. This isn't my imagination…"

"Midna, can I ask you something?" he interrupted, not intending to be rude at all whatsoever.

Midna partially pulled out from Link's arms, just enough so she could look into his face. It was then that she realized…she was a little bit taller then him. That was a little bit startling. "What is it?" she replied, studying his beautiful blue eyes carefully.

"What did you really mean to say to me when you broke the mirror?"

Midna laughed nervously. "Oh…ah-ha-ha…you still remember that, don't you?"

Link pulled himself out of her arms, though he still held onto her arms with his. "How could I not? What you said…I've been thinking about it ever since, wondering what you had really meant to say."

"I…I wanted to tell you…"

"Why did you hesitate then? Why are you hesitating now?"

"Link, I…"

"No one else is here, Midna, it is okay…"

Midna pulled her arms away from his and put her hands on his face, their eyes meeting without falter. She took one step closer to him. "Link, I love you!" she quickly exclaimed as she pulled herself into a loving, passionate kiss with him.

Their lips met, and Link let out a startled moan. His eyes were still wide with shock when his body began to melt into her sweet, tender kiss. But…she wasn't going anywhere with it. Link touched Midna's face with one of his hands and took hold of one of her hands in the other. He closed his eyes and pushed himself into the kiss, forcing her mouth open with his lips. He infiltrated her mouth with his tongue, tracing around her lips. This time it was Midna's turn to be surprised.

She squeaked, a little from surprise and a little from pleasure. She relaxed herself and let Link have his way for a little. After all, it felt good…but it was so strange. Usually for her race, they bit through the kiss; they didn't wage war with their tongues. She was rather enjoying this human custom. Maybe she was enjoying it a little more than she should have…

But her pleasure was cut short. Link began to vanish.

"Link? Link, what's going on?" She began desperately grasping at him, but to no avail. Her hands only slipped through the hazy shadow that he had become. But then something unusual happened…her hand began to glow with the symbol of the Triforce. She gasped.

Link let a single tear slip involuntarily down his face. "Zelda gave that to you, didn't she?"

Midna cried out. "I can't lose you again! I can't bear it! Please, don't go!"

Link smiled half-heartedly. "Midna, look at your self. You are disappearing as well."

"Link!"

"Midna, do not worry…we will meet again. I promise. And you know me…I never break a promise."

Midna nodded fearfully and stood still while she and Link began to fade. "I believe you." And then the two of them were gone.

zzz

Midna sat up with a shock, with both Ilia and Rusl looking over her. Waves of memory came jutting back to her. She had seen Link…kissed him, even, but was it really just a dream? No, it was too real…except for the place they were in. Everything else was entirely tangible. Especially the kiss…she couldn't have imagined that. She didn't even know how humans had kissed before that. It couldn't have simply been an elaborate fantasy.

"What…happened?" she asked them.

Ilia let out a sigh of relief. "A lot, we'll fill you in a little later, now you need to rest…"

Rusl let it be known that he was relieved as well. "We didn't know when you were going to come to. It's been nearly a half an hour since you passed out."

"Where's Link?" she asked them.

"What do you mean?" asked Ilia sadly. "I thought I had already told you, he's…"

"You're wrong. He's still alive, I can feel it." Midna put a finger to her lips, struggling to remember the feeling of when she had kissed him. "He's the only one who can put an end to this madness, and I'm going to find him."

zzz

Link sat up with a start. He felt so grungy. His entire body was stinging. Sand and ash was covering his dried wounds. How long had he been laying there? He sputtered, realizing that he hadn't been breathing. How long had he remained breathless?

He looked around him. He was in the desert, and out of his cell. Flames were dying out all around him, and there were huge masses of burned and toppled wooden structures. What had happened while he had been out-cold? The last thing he remembered was when he was attacked by the ReDead. He had thought that the monstrosity had killed him…but had he been wrong? Had the mysterious girl who he couldn't quite remember have been wrong? Even Midna, and Ilia, who had told Midna in the first place? Had he really been alive this whole time?

But then a surge of emotions overcame him. He remembered everything about when he was unconscious. He remembered everything down to the very last detail. Everything, that is, except for who the little Twili girl with blue eyes was…

He didn't want to think about it any longer. He had to find Midna. At all costs. If his dream had anything to do with what was happening in real life, Zelda had given her power to Midna again. Meaning Zelda was either in trouble or already dead. And Midna was in even greater danger. If Zelda had given her powers to Midna, then something drastic must have happened. And whatever that drastic something was, it was sure to go after whoever possessed the greatest power, and right now, that person happened to be his beloved. He had to save her. His heart raced as his body filled with the urge to protect the woman he now realized he loved.

"I'm coming, Midna."

He grabbed a rather large piece of sturdy wood with a sharpened edge to use as a weapon, and he charged into the distance. This was it. He was going to end this madness once and for all.

A/N: Wow, I'm so sorry I haven't updated this in the longest time. I've had a lot of family trouble lately, and I've kind of had to deal with that first. Also, I would like to say this: Thank you everyone who has been reviewing all along! I never thought any of my stories would ever be worthy of getting over 50 reviews! Also, I apologize for the total sappyness of this chapter. Now that I re-read it, I think it's kind of stupid and it would never happen in a million years, but I'm far too lazy to redo it. And Link was alive the whole time, aren't you glad I never really killed him off? And what is going on in Ordon Village? And what really happened to Aura? Stay tuned to find out!


	15. Merciless

Chapter Fifteen: Merciless

Dark Lord Ganondorf and Princess Zelda stood there, facing each other unflinchingly. Each with faces plastered with determination and spite. Neither would move. They let the sand-streaked wind whip their hair and clothing about. A sandstorm was brewing, yet neither would even blink. Their heated breath trickled through their mouths, adding to the already blistering wind. They were poised to defend themselves against the first move. They just waited…waited for the other to make the first move.

Zelda showed no signs of her unwavering patience. Ganondorf, on the other hand, was openly showing his apparent short-lasting composure. His morale to let the young girl make the first move was slowly, but surely ebbing away from him. He began to grind his teeth and clench his fists, and his heated breath became heavy and full of malice. Zelda smirked, noticing his weak will power. Her heart was racing with adrenaline.

And then it happened, all too soon. Ganondorf could hold his patience no longer. Without notice, he rushed forward in the blink of an eye and thrust his blade down upon Zelda. At the last possible moment, the princess raised her sword and blocked his attack perfectly, barely wasting a single breath. A loud clanging sound filled the area as the two blades met, the metal hissing maliciously in the aftermath. Even after he had struck, Ganondorf continued to press down upon Zelda with his body mass. It took a vast majority of her upper body strength to keep her sword from slipping, resulting in her ultimate, untimely demise.

Yes, that was her goal in the end, but it was too soon to end it quite yet. She hadn't humiliated him enough. She hadn't exacted her sweet revenge for murdering countless people. She hadn't gotten back at him for killing the man than her dearest friend so desperately loved…the man that she trusted above any other man, and the hero of her country. No, Zelda was going to make him suffer for all he had done. She was going to make him pay for his crimes and his heinous actions against her country.

Zelda had to think quickly. She deliberately released the pressure she held from her end of the blade, causing Ganondorf to slip for a split second. She took this opportunity to slip underneath the two blades and move in a spinning motion around to Ganondorf's back. She quickly whipped her sword to his neck. Ganondorf began to laugh.

"You must think you're so clever, don't you, princess?" he chortled.

"Oh, no, Ganondorf, not at all," she replied coyly. She continued to smirk.

"You failed to have seen a possible outcome of this foolish maneuver," he said, his face now becoming angry as he cut his sardonic laughter short.

"And what may that be?" asked Zelda, raising her eyebrow. It was true, she could no longer foresee things as efficiently as she had when she had the power of the Triforce within her, but she couldn't let Ganondorf see that. If he knew that she had given away the golden power, he would surely go after Midna. And Midna was not yet ready to take on this colossal force. Besides, she knew full well what Ganondorf was going to do, this time at least. It was now only a matter of moments before…

The Gerudo man interrupted her thoughts. "This," he said quickly, before entirely relaxing his body and following up with a quick duck and turn away from the blade. Zelda stumbled a bit and fell forward. Before Zelda could even trace his movements, she felt a searing pain in her midsection and a warm, sticky liquid substance begin to flow down her body. She rolled her eyes back, trying as hard as she could to push the pain away. Her trembling hands dropped her own sword and found their way to the shaft of the Sword of Light that was now thrust firmly through her stomach.

Ganondorf let the princess's blood stain his hands before he said anything. His body was surrounded in a dark purple light. Slowly, almost too slowly, his body became…more firm somehow. And somehow he was becoming more tangible. He was becoming whole. And then, he began to laugh. "Now, at last, I am whole! The people of Hyrule shall rue the day they postponed their inevitable fate!"

She smiled through the pain. "You're too late…" she gasped, before collapsing on the ground beside her sword. She was still holding desperately onto life, even though in her mind she wanted to let go. She held her eyes open wide as she struggled for air.

He kneeled down and clutched at the dying princess's throat. "What did you say, you little witch?"

Zelda squeezed out a simple, "You…heard…me…" She tried to pry his hands away from her throat with her own, but she was no match for him. "You…bastard…"She had lost too much blood and too much power. She had no idea that dying was going to hurt this much. She closed her eyes and let her body go limp. But she did not dare let her world go black…just yet.

"You're in pain, aren't you?" he asked maliciously.

Zelda moaned painfully in response.

"Well, let me take away the pain!" He shouted before bringing his knee down upon her chest harder than a startled horse trampling an unsuspecting rabbit. He still held her throat tightly. Zelda winced and moaned with pain again as she let hot tears run down her face.

Ganondorf released her throat with one of his hands and placed it in the air above her heart. "And now, the Triforce of Wisdom is finally mine!" His hand began to glow white as he began to suck the life energy out of Zelda. She screamed with what little breath she had left before finally succumbing to sweet unconsciousness.

The wind picked up stronger now. Sand was scraping every inch of the two enemies.

Ganondorf pulled back from her when he realized that the Triforce was not released from the Princess's body. He began to think for a moment. Was she not truly dead yet, and that was why the Triforce had not left her body yet to seek out a new master? True, all he needed in order to restore his mortal body was Link's and Zelda's blood, but he wanted more. He wanted their shining, golden power. He began to panic. Not again. He was not going to lose out on the last fragment of the true power because this stubborn girl refused to die. Not when he was so close to obtaining the whole Triforce.

"Curse you, Link! Curse you, Zelda!" he screamed out into the wind as the sandstorm finally ceased its approach and began to hit. Ganondorf continued to bellow out his frustration as the thick wall of sand covered him with a heavy coat of grit.

zzz

As he ran blindly through the desert, Link began to notice that a harsh wind was picking up. A wind filled with sand. "Could this be a sandstorm?" he asked himself, stopping for a while to rest. He looked up at the cruel, desert sun, as if he was expecting an answer to his question.

Sure enough, he got his answer.

The sand whipped around his already tousled hair, and he squinted to keep the rough grains out of his eyes. He ripped a piece of his tunic off and tied it around his mouth and nose to block the sand out while he was running. He began to run again, realizing that there was no possible way he could survive if he stayed in that one place.

As he ran, he saw a small bunch of rubble in the distance…and the faint glimmer of sunshine on gold. Link's eyes opened wide. He knew that shape…and he knew that beautiful red hair anywhere. He picked up his pace. If he was able to get to that shelter, not only would he be able to take a breather and be able to sit out the storm, but he would also be able to see her again…he would be able to clear up what was happening.

This was his chance. His last chance. He wasn't going to screw this up again.

zzz

The sand storm had yet to die out, but that did not stop the little blue-eyed half-breed from floating there. True, she was only a shadow, for her time in this world had been spent, but that did not mean her powers were gone. She looked down and crossed her arms. There was the princess of Hyrule, half-buried in sand and on the brink of death. But she was not there…not yet. She still had some life left in her.

"Princess Zelda, you idiot, you should have known a little better than that. I would expect Midna…no, I would expect my mother to do something foolish like this, not you… I would not have expected you to rush into things so…"

Aura looked down at Zelda's unconscious body, the rest of the princess being quickly covered by sand. She was grateful that Ganondorf could not see her. "Oh well, that doesn't matter now…I have to get you out of here."

…Let's back up for a little bit. Yes, Aura had disappeared from the dream-like realm, seemingly to her ultimate demise. Much to her own surprise, she was only sent back into the realm of the living, yet only in a shadow's form. She had assumed it was because there was no world to return to in her time. It logically could not have worked.

And now back to the matters at hand.

She placed her shadowy hands on Zelda's body and the two forms began to faintly glow. Within moments, Aura had pulled Zelda into the shadows with her. It was about time she ended this madness once and for all. This was her last chance to do something right.

zzz

Midna could see a figure running towards them in the distance. She couldn't see clearly through the sandstorm, however, and she began to panic. Had it been so long that Zelda was already dead and Ganondorf was now on his way to finish off the rest of them? Was it a stray Moblin, goblin, or whatever? Or…was it Link?

No, that was being paranoid on one side, and wishful thinking on the other. But then…just who was it?

Well, whoever it was, the tide was definitely turning. Whether it was for the better or the worse was still uncertain.

A/N: Alright, alright, I am so sorry for not updating this in like forever. I promised to update this last Monday, but I kind of forgot that at my mom's house the internet connection is terrible…and I've actually had this chapter done since then, but I just haven't gotten to post it until now. BTW, I'm posting it at a friend's house right now. Also, I was planning to get to the whole Ordon mystery thing this chapter, but I guess it will have to wait until next time. Until then, enjoy!


	16. Heart Aching Reunion

Chapter Sixteen: Heart Aching Reunion

Link was running as fast as he could through the sand. Hot droplets of sweat formed on his brow and slipped into his stinging eyes. His legs were beginning to burn from the stress. His previously dead body was no longer used to his own muscles moving. He ached, but that did not stop him…it only slowed him. But every second was crucial as the whirlwind of sand was quickly gaining on him.

His mind quickly drifted to Midna and the vision he had shared with her. They had both obviously been in the realm where the knight had trained him precisely one year ago. And more than that, he finally knew for sure what she had meant to say to him so long ago. Over and over in his mind he had run through the possibilities of what she had meant, always coming to the same conclusion, only to shake it away again. But now he held the answer firmly in his grasp. She loved him. And he knew that there was no other woman in either world he would rather give his heart to.

By the time his mind returned to him, the sandstorm had worsened, and he had lost sight of the shelter of rubble. But just as Link was about to panic, a pair of soft, smooth hands grabbed onto his arms and dragged him in another direction. Within moments, he could see clearly again, and could no longer feel the harsh sand whipping around his body. He touched the hands that were clasped around his arm and looked up to see whose face it was.

It was Ilia.

zzz

Little Aura, though she was but a shadow, had managed to pull Zelda through the darkness and into what seemed like the only available shelter for miles. Time was running out for the Princess of Hyrule. Cold sweat formed on her brow, and her breathing was extremely labored. Her wound was deep and filled with sand. There was no way that Aura could heal the princess as she was now. She was going to need help, and she was going to need it fast.

But she had a few problems with this plan. One, no one but the dead or (conscious) dying would be able to see and hear her, as she was practically one of the dead herself. Two, She did not know where anyone else was, and even if she did, she would not know how to get them to Zelda in time and what they could do to help her.

Aura was in a serious dilemma. All she could do was sit and watch as Princess Zelda's life force slowly slipped away.

zzz

Ilia seemed more surprised than Link did. Once she realized whose arm it was she was holding, she pulled her hands back to her face and covered her mouth in shock.

"Link!" she exclaimed, full of shock, pain, and relief all at the same time. "I thought you were dead! I held your lifeless body in my arms!"

Link pulled the ripped cloth from his mouth so that he could speak clearly. "I was…" he began.

"You were all cold, and your eyes held a blank stare! You…I…It can't…"

"Ilia…It's me. Yes, I had really died." As if to prove his point, he pinched his own face and pulled on his cheek to emphasize that it really was him and he was really alive.

"But…but! How did you come back? No one comes back from the dead!" Tears started to fall from Ilia's eyes.

Link did not want to see his best friend like this. He did not want to make her suffer. Not anymore. He moved closer to her and embraced her. He wanted to dry her tears in any way he could.

Ilia embraced him in return and began sobbing into his shoulder. "Do you have any idea how much it hurt me to see you die? Right before my eyes? And I couldn't save you. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't save you."

"Ilia…"

Ilia interrupted him and moved back so she was looking back directly into his face. "Link…listen to me. I love you. I've always loved you. Even when I yelled at you and scolded you for rough-housing with Epona and the children. Even when you made me cry that one time at the ranch when we were only ten years old and you told me that you were going to leave the village one day and never return. I could not bear to see you dead once, don't you ever die on me again!"

Link was struck speechless. Aura was right. Ilia really did have a thing for him. But to Link, Ilia was just a friend. Such a good friend that she was like a sister to him. He loved her as a sister, not as a lover…but what could he tell her? That he did not have the same feelings for her? That he could not return those feelings?

Just then, Midna and Rusl walked into the area, bringing down their arms as if they no longer needed to cover their eyes from the onslaught of sand.

A long, awkward silence then erupted between the four. Rusl was then the first to break it. "Were we…interrupting something?" he asked.

"No, not at all," replied Ilia. She reluctantly freed herself from Link's arms and went to stand with Rusl.

"Well, I have some interesting news for you. And Link, I can't tell you how glad I am to see that you aren't incapacitated. We had all feared for the worst. But anyways, Midna and I would like to inform you both that we found the body of her royal highness, Princess Zelda, lying on the other side of these ruins."

Ilia gasped. "What, did you just leave her there?" she asked frantically.

"We couldn't move her body," began Midna steadily, "Because if we had, we may have killed her."

"You mean she's still alive?" asked Link. "What are we waiting for? Let's go! Before it's too late!" And with that, Rusl, Ilia, Link, and Midna set off for the other side of the ruins, though it was a short distance indeed, with Rusl and Ilia in the lead and Midna and Link trailing behind, though not by far.

When the two were out of ear's reach of Rusl and Ilia, Midna began to speak. "What was that all about?"

"What was what all about?" asked Link, innocently enough.

"You know, Ilia's confession," replied the Twilight Princess.

"Oh, you heard that?" Link started to blush as he raised his hand to the back of his head.

"Well?" asked Midna stubbornly. "What are you going to tell her?"

"I don't quite know yet." Link let out a long sigh. "I don't want to hurt her…so I can't just flat-out say that I don't like her that way. But at the same time, I don't want to lead her on, because I know that when she really finds out about us, it will hurt her even more than it would if I just told her point blank."

"You should really stop beating around the bush and tell her somehow, you know."

"Midna, she's my best friend. I love her like she was my sister, and I can't stand to hurt her."

"Then you should get it over with, don't you think? I don't want to hurt the girl any more than you do, despite some jealousy issues I had before she had even gotten her memories back."

Link stopped for a moment and stared at Midna.

"What?"

"You were jealous of Ilia?" Link couldn't help but let out a suppressed chuckle. "Back then, I didn't even think you enjoyed my company in the least."

"Well, as we both know all too well…from first-hand experience even…that things aren't always as they appear."

Rusl and Ilia suddenly came to a halt, causing Midna and Link to stop walking as well. They had come to the place where Zelda was lying, only the tiniest breaths escaping her cold lips.

"Here we are," announced Rusl. Then he knelt down and proceeded to clean the princess's wound with his canister of water.

Zzz

Somewhere deep in the desert, Ganondorf's mortal body was now rotting in the sand. He knew that he had lost this time. He had been outsmarted by the royal princess of Hyrule, he had been outwitted by that crazy kid in green for the umpteenth time, and the Twilight Princess had escaped his grasps for the second time. He wasn't even going to bother now. He would wait for the next generation of the Hero to pass to make his comeback. But that wasn't going to say that he would take back his minions and monsters as well…

No, he was going to leave them behind to wreak havoc on the land of Hyrule in his temporary absence…and no land would be left unturned…

A/N: Yes, I know I have been bad with updates. I've just been EXTREMELY busy with summer reading, work, studying, making sprites, etc. I'm sure I had a few people worried that this had become a dead story. Well fear not, fellow readers! In fact, I've already got a sequel in the works if anyone would be interested in me posting that as soon as I've finished with this story. There're only a few chapters or so to go until the first part of Aura's story will be over! I hope you all have enjoyed this story as much as I have!


	17. A Healing Wind

Chapter Seventeen: A Healing Wind

Aura was shocked to see Link alive and well, right before her eyes, assisting Rusl alongside Ilia and Midna to clean Zelda's wounds. After her encounter with him in the realm where souls went when they were separated from their bodies, and after they had both been torn from each other, she expected to never see him again. At least, not in this time line as she was now. And even so, if she was going to see him at all, it would not have been in his living, breathing body; rather, trapped as a mere spirit as she was.

She frantically waved her arms in front of his face and shouted in his ears in an attempt to gain his attention, but it was no use. He was no longer dead, nor was he dying, and so she no longer had any chance of reaching him.

When she was done testing her luck, she dropped to the ground and sighed. She smiled sadly; she had to be content with watching her father from her place, without ever hearing his loving voice towards her again. He would never hold her in his arms again. Oh, how she wished she could be alive to be held by her father one last time! But then she suddenly remembered that this Link from this timeline was not yet her father. She did not have to be so sad! But just looking at him reminded her terribly of her deceased father in her own, now nonexistent, timeline.

She let out another sigh and continued to watch the four humans at work, tending to their princess's wounds.

zzz

Rusl's hands moved quickly as he washed the sand from the Princess's wound. Midna was helping by handing Rusl everything he needed and watching the process from the sidelines, while Link was inspecting the wound for infection. In almost no time at all, the wound became clearly visible, and no longer had much sand in it at all.

Link's eyes became wrought with worry and fear. He had been in battle before, and he knew a fatal wound when he saw one. The only way that the princess would possibly survive was from the help of the goddesses…and that's when it hit him. He remembered when Zelda had passed on her piece of the Triforce to Midna one year ago in order to save her life. Now all he had to do was figure out how to trigger its powers again.

He immediately shot his head up, with an enlightened look on his face. Midna noticed immediately.

"What is it?" she asked. "What could you be so happy about at a time like this?"

"I've found it!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"Found what, my boy?" asked Rusl, slightly glancing at Link, being careful not to stray from his crucial task.

"We can heal Princess Zelda! All we need is the Triforce! I've seen it work before."

"Triforce?" asked Ilia, confused as ever about ancient legends and trinkets.

Then he turned to Midna. "Midna, I've seen her use it to heal you before! Zelda has the Triforce…all we need to do is…" but then he cut himself off mid-sentence. "No…Midna, you hold the Triforce now."

All eyes were upon Midna now.

Midna looked around, from person to person, in a nervous action, as if expecting someone to change Link's mind. But no one else said a word. "But…but I don't even know how to use it! And…and…and what if I…disappear like she did when I use it?" She was eying Link desperately, searching for an answer.

"That's not going to happen. Zelda had only her own life force to rely upon to power the Triforce when she healed you…but now we have the both of us. Instead of draining all of your power, it will take a part of each of our power." He then walked over to Midna and took hold of her hand, and both of their hands began to resonate with their pieces of the Triforce. "And instead of one piece, we have the power of two."

Rusl looked at their two glowing hands in awe. In all of his years, he had never expected to see the power of the Triforce…no, the power of the Gods themselves, with his own two eyes. "Link…that idea of yours just might be crazy enough to work."

Ilia turned towards Link and Midna. "What are you two waiting for? Hurry! The princess is running out of time!"

Link and Midna held on tighter to each other's hands and nodded towards Ilia as they stepped forward to kneel down beside Princess Zelda. They both knew what they were risking. But they were willing to risk it to restore their beloved ruler…and their beloved friend.

zzz

Princess Zelda was dreaming as she slowly slipped into death. She was dreaming of the future, of what would come to be. As always, she was born with the gift of premonition. And now she believed that she would die with it.

Ganondorf's body was dead. She had not failed entirely, then. But his spirit was still alive in all that was evil. His monsters continued to roam freely throughout the regions of Hyrule. But this time, he could not take over completely, for there were fighters who would never give up to the darkness. The sky was still its natural color, and the sun continued to shine brightly every day. Zelda could see that there was hope in the world, even though there was evil in it.

And then she was looking down upon a group of people in the throne room. It was a bunch of her own soldiers, smiling and cheering over…herself? It was Zelda's own body she was looking down upon, lying in her bed, with a doctor at the foot of the bed, holding two small infants, twins even. One was a girl, and the other was a boy. The doctor wrapped them in a blanket and placed them in Zelda's arms. Link and Midna were there as well, with Link holding their own daughter in his arms.

Zelda knew that she was going to live through this now! She would live to see a new generation of Royal blood enter the world! She would live on to see her peoples' hope renewed, and her friends enjoy the world that they have always deserved. There was no way that she was going to give up to death yet! She had to see this vision through to the end.

And that was when she realized something that most can only acknowledge within the deepest crevices of the mind…that without evil, there could be no good. There was no possible way to destroy the darkness once and for all…but they could always push it out and lock it away. There would never be a day where evil would disappear, for then the goodness would vanish as well. But as long as there was hope in the hearts of all who dwelled in the land of Hyrule, the evil would never stand a chance. Seeing her future children was what made her realize this.

She clutched tightly onto this ray of light that she had discovered, and it pulled her towards an opening, and exit of some sort. She felt herself slipping from the light, but she just held on tighter. She would not let go.

Just as suddenly as she had been pulled through the opening, she awoke with a start, inhaling the deepest breath she had ever taken in her life. Her vision was still blurry, and she had a terrible pain in her midsection. She could not even move her body, but she cried out in pain as she began to feel a great, burning heat where her wound was.

And then all went black once more as she let out one final cry.

zzz

Ilia and Rusl had backed themselves up against the wall. They watched as Link and Midna poured all of their strength into the power of the Triforce. They flickered in and out of existence periodically. Aura watched alongside them from the shadows. She kept a close watch on Zelda to make sure that she did not pass on to the next world.

But then it happened. Link and Midna began to change right before their very eyes. Midna's body began to flicker and warp, as her form slowly shrunk down in size. Her ears grew longer and longer, and her body grew shorter and shorter until her robes were far too large for her. Midna's robes fell from her body as she continued to concentrate on the power of the Triforce.

Link was not changing as much, but his hero's attire was vanishing slowly, being replaced instead with his every-day Ordonian attire.

And then all at once, there was a huge flash of light. When it had died down, Zelda was healed and sitting up weakly, staring at Link and Midna. Midna had reverted to her Imp form, and had passed out in Link's arms, who was now in his Ordonian clothes. Neither of their hands resonated with the light of the Triforce any longer.

Rusl, Ilia, and Aura looked on in confusion. How had Midna become such a creature? And what was the possible significance of Link's Hero's Garb vanishing? They did not have time to ponder such questions, as at this time the sound of the raging sandstorms had disappeared without a trace.

As if searching for where the sound had gone to, everyone looked all around in circles. That is, except for Midna.

Zelda suddenly noticed that her dress was free of blood and sand, and she traced her hands up and down her stomach, trying to find where her great wound had gone to. Upon realizing that the reason Midna and Link were now as they were, she concluded that they had used the Triforce to heal her. She was both angry at them and happy they had done so at the same time, though she couldn't for the life of her explain why she felt that way.

In the silence, Link was holding Midna close to his chest, cradling her as if she was a small child. "Midna…I'm sorry I made you go through with this…please…forgive me…"

Zelda was close enough to the two of them to touch Midna's face with her own hand. "She is alive, at least. And she has no wounds and appears to be perfectly healthy other than the fact that she is unconscious," she said, more to herself than to Link. Then she added, more to Link this time, "I'm sorry for causing so much trouble. I should have realized it sooner."

They all looked at her in confusion. "Realized what?" asked Ilia.

"That the only way to defeat evil is with hope, not with death. If we all keep living and pushing the darkness away from us, the light will grow and flourish. We don't need to bear hatred to one another, as Ganondorf did. We must live. And we must keep hope," replied Zelda.

Midna opened her large eyes at the sound of her dear friend's voice. She did not even care that she was in her tiny Imp form once more. "Zelda…Zelda, I'm glad…that you're okay. I'm glad…glad that for once, what I did to help you was not in vain. You are…like a sister to me. I could not bear to see you die a second time because of your trust in me."

Zelda smiled at Midna. "Do not take the blame upon yourself, my friend. It was my own decision. But just look at what has happened, everything is fine now. Ganondorf is gone, and we are all alive and well."

Rusl then interjected. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, your highness, but there is a problem with what you have just said. I know that in my home town of Ordon, some kind of dark magic is taking place. I don't think that we've won the battle quite yet."

Zelda looked at Rusl calmly. "What is it that you propose we do? We must not let the darkness prevail. Not again."

Rusl then proceeded to tell Zelda and the others all about what he had seen in Ordon for the past day, and all about what Ilia had said about she and Link not even being in the village. When all information had been shared, they began to form a plan. This was it. Everything hung in the balance of this last act of those of Twilight and those of Light.

They were going to face what was left of Ganondorf's malice once and for all in a final showdown of life and death.

_A/N: Alright everybody...it all comes down to this! There are only two chapters left to go! A warning to everyone, the next chapter is going to be a little on the long side compared to my usual chapters._


	18. For Even Darkness Must Pass

Chapter Eighteen: For Even Darkness Must Pass

"Is everyone in?" asked Zelda, outstretching her hand to prepare for another "group-hand-pile."

Everyone nodded, as one by one they put their hands on top of hers. Ilia's hand was trembling from her nervousness, but she did not dare back out. Rusl's hand was warm and heavy on top of the to girls' hands, as if to reassure them that he would be there as a supporting pillar. Midna placed her tiny Imp-hand on top of Rusl's, barely big enough to stretch out across the palm of his large, strong hands. Her's was cool and soft to the touch, almost like velvet, on top of Rusl's hand. And then Link placed his hand on top of everyone else's. Even though much of his energy had been spent on the renewal of Princess Zelda, his strength and courage showed through. His morale would not, and could not falter. He would not let them down, no matter what.

Not wanting to be left out, even though she could not be seen or felt, Aura placed her hand on top of everyone else's. She knew that there must be something she could do to help, even as she was in the state she was in now. If she could do anything to preserve the future of this timeline, she would snatch up the opportunity like there was no tomorrow—for in fact, if she did not, there would most likely _be_ no tomorrow.

"How will we be getting out of here in time? There is no possible way we could get to Ordon by nightfall, not to mention we are completely lost and have nothing to act as a landmark since everything has burned to the ground."

Zelda proceeded to disclose the plan to them. "Sir Rusl, I have the travel part under control. You forget that I am of royal blood, trained by the six sages themselves. Now, there is a more urgent matter of getting the word out to anyone who can help us. We know very well that a Twili who has lost a great amount of her powers, a hero who no longer possesses the blessing of the gods, a single member of the Resistance, and a simple farm-hand girl can stand no chance against an army."

"What about you?" asked Ilia. "What will you be doing?"

"Teleporting so many people so great a distance will be a huge strain on my mind, and on my body. I will be of no use to you until I regain my strength. That is why we need more help."

Rusl quickly interjected. "I have my golden cuckoo," he began. "It can fly faster than any man or horse can run. I will write an emergency letter to Telma down at the bar, and she can send for the other members of the Resistance. There is no one who gets the job done like that woman."

"Alright, so we've got the call for back-up part down. Now what?" asked Midna. "And don't you count me out of fighting, Zelda, because I am still more powerful than even you with your power at its maximum in this form."

"I am sorry Midna, I meant no disrespect. But what we need to cover now is how to get me into a shelter where I can rest after my magic expenditure and where we can get the children of the village to safety."

Ilia's voice became stern. "I know that there is no safer place for the children than Kakariko Village at the base of Death Mountain. With the strength of the Gorons and the ever-watchful eyes of Renado and his daughter to guard them, no harm will come to them."

"Okay," said Link. "But we're going to have to narrow down the Gorons to the Goron Elders and children. The Gorons are a strong people, and I've seen first hand what their strength is capable of. They are loyal and proud, and they would be perfect soldiers against what we're up against."

"If we can get the Gorons to help us, that is," added Ilia.

"Don't worry about it," said Midna. "They remember what happened last time the Twilight overtook Hyrule. And they remember very well who it was who saved them." Midna turned and glanced at Link slyly with that last comment. "They would not refuse our plea lightly."

"What about the Zora people?" asked Rusl. "They, too, are extraordinary warriors."

"Yes," replied Zelda. "But they also need water to survive."

"That shouldn't be a problem then," said Ilia, "Because we have a rather large body of water in our village. When they need it, they may use it as they please. Besides, Link and I saved him and watched over him before. He and his people will gladly aid us."

"Alright then, everything should be settled…except for a safe house for me."

"Your Highness, my father, the mayor of Ordon, has a large, secret addition to our home. He once used it as a sumo wrestling wring, but I'm sure it would be the safest place for you." Zelda nodded at Ilia as a symbol of thanks.

"Sir Rusl, you get to work writing that letter to Telma. Tell her everything. You have five minutes to write it and send it off to her. After that, we wait an hour for it to reach her and for her to send out for help to everyone who is able. We don't want to rush in without backup, now do we?"

Rusl took out his golden cuckoo and quickly began his work on the letter. Five minutes quickly passed, and then he sent his cuckoo flying. And then they waited.

At the end of an hour, Zelda began to speak, breaking the tense silence. "Is everyone prepared then for what we must do, and what the risks are? We could all very well die tonight in this fight."

Everyone nodded, not a single one of them hesitant about their decision.

"It's settled then. Everyone, hold on tightly to anywhere on either of my arms. We depart now." And with that, everyone grabbed onto a part of one of the Princess's arms, even Aura. Green, sparkling wind began to swirl all around her and the others. In a flash, they were all gone, and the only thing that was left behind to show that they were here was a large spot of blood on the ground where Zelda had been lying.

zzz

Telma was cleaning mugs and plates anxiously in her bar. She was still wondering how she was only able to get a hold of Rusl, out of the three members of the Resistance who were not already at her bar. She started rubbing the plate in her hand harder and harder, not even concentrating on what she was doing anymore.

Shad looked up from his scrolls and noticed that Telma was using too much force in her action. He had recently returned from Kakariko Village, after he had warned the Gorons and the people there about what was going on. He knew what was going to happen if she kept that up, so he yelled, "Telma!" but it was too late. The plate shattered in her hand, cutting it deeply.

Telma sighed and began picking up the pieces from the ground using her good hand. "I'm sorry, Shad dear, it's just…things don't seem right. What with the princess gone, and only Rusl answering to my letters…and that horrible note that the guards had found. I've just got the feeling that something is terribly, terribly wrong."

Shad repositioned the glasses on his face and took a deep breath. "Telma…" but he was interrupted when the door came flying open. It was the post man, with a distinctly golden cuckoo perched in his arms.

"Miss Telma," he began as he untied the letter from the cuckoo's feet. "An urgent message from Mr. Rusl," he finished.

Telma's eyes lit up at the very news. She hopped right over the counter and ran over to the Post Man. "Thank you, Mr. Post Man," she said as she took the letter from his hands. She began reading it to herself, quickly once, and slower the second time. She took it all in.

"What does it say," asked Shad anxiously.

"Quick, Shad dear, get your pen and some paper! We need to write four letters, and pronto!" and then she proceeded to tell him the contents of the letter, with the Post Man listening intently to his directions.

zzz

The skies over Ordon Village were dark, and full of black clouds. The villagers looked at the skies in utter dismay, frightened of what was going on. And why was this darkness only blanketing Ordon? It was not even hovering menacingly over the nearby Faron Woods.

As it began to thunder, Uli, Colin's mom, quickly picked up her toddler daughter from playing on the ground and cradled her in her arms. Then she turned her head to Colin, who was sitting beside her. "Colin, get inside." Her voice was filled with worry, and a motherly desire to protect her children. She handed him his little sister. "And take Corinne with you. There's something unnatural about this storm."

Colin took his little sister in his arms and shot a quick glance at the sky before rushing inside. His mother was right, there was something truly evil and menacing about the way the black clouds moved about so quickly and rippled as if they were waves on the ocean. As soon as he got inside, he shut the door quickly behind him.

Uli was still standing outside, looking at the sky, when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. Startled, she turned around to see her beloved husband. "Oh, it's only you, dear…but I thought you had left to go help out with that order you're in?" And then she saw his eyes flicker to a solid, deep shade of purple. She gasped and turned away as she realized that this man was not really her husband, but it was too late. The doppelganger smiled evilly and hit Uli so hard on the side of her head that she was knocked out and instantly collapsed on the ground.

Colin and Corrine had been watching from the window, and had seen the whole thing. "Mama!" gasped Corinne as she saw the heinous act. Colin tried to muffle his sister's voice, but to no avail. The doppelganger heard her and turned its head to look at the two children, giving them a look that chilled them to their bones.

Colin quickly rushed to slam the windows and lock the door, picking up his little sister in his arms as he swung open the door to the cellar. But before he could even take his first step down the stairs, the doppelganger appeared miraculously before him. This was it, thought Colin. This would be the end for him and his family.

The doppelganger raised its fist as it readied itself to attack the small children, but it was stopped when the door burst open and an arrow flew through the air, piercing the creature's arm.

A familiar voice rang through the air. "You will _not_ harm my son, you bastard." It was the real Rusl, and boy were his two children happy to see him. Rusl sent a second arrow flying towards the doppelganger, but this time it was expecting the projectile weapon, and so it caught it with its hands. "Hurry, you two, you must get out of here, now! Not even the cellar is safe for you!"

"But what about Mom?" asked Colin, his voice trembling with worry.

"Don't worry about her; I've got everything under control. Go find Ilia at the shop in the village. She is waiting with the other children for you and Corinne. She's taking you all to Kakariko."

"Wait, but why?"

"Just go!" shouted Rusl, before charging at the creature and clashing his own sword with its mock-shadow-sword. Colin, with his sister still in his arms, took this chance to run past the two fighters engaged in lethal combat and dash to the shop. He swore that he had never run faster in his life.

As he ran, he saw Link fighting with a shadow-double of himself, and a strange grey-skinned girl who could float and use magic was throwing great, flaming energy balls towards a shadow-double of Ilia. He also saw more shadowy look-alikes of the other villagers appear each time the black thunder struck the ground. If this kept up, there was no way that only three fighters could fend of these creatures all by themselves.

As he ran, he collided with a woman who looked like she was struggling to move. He looked up at her, and saw that she was very beautiful. She had on a long, flowing white gown and a gold and sapphire tiara. He instantly took this to be the princess his father so often spoke about when he came home from his missions…Princess Zelda of Hyrule.

"Oh…" she looked down sadly at him. "I'm sorry…it's just that I'm…having a little trouble moving…could you…perhaps point me in the direction of Mayor Bo's house?" she asked him.

Colin looked passed her towards the little pink building where Ilia was waiting with the others. Then he looked down at his sister. "Ilia is right over there. Do you think you can make it by yourself?" he asked.

Corinne nodded at him and took of in a run towards Ilia and the others.

Colin then took the princess by the hand and began quickly leading her to the Mayor's house. When they arrived, Colin proceeded to bang ferociously on the door. However, after the first pound, the door swung wide open, revealing the mayor himself trying to wrangle an evil, demented-looking version of Link's horse, Epona. Bo saw Colin and the Princess immediately. "What're you two doin' 'ere?" he cried as he dodged the crazed mare. "And Colin, where's yer' sister?"

"She's safe with Ilia, sir!" cried Collin. "The princess was looking for you…"

Princess Zelda let go of Colin's hand and began to speak. "Your daughter Ilia told me that I could rest here while I regained my strength…but it seems as though this place has been overrun as well?" she said, weakness slightly overpowering her voice. She dipped a little in her steps as if she was about to faint, but Colin caught her. She was surprisingly light for her height.

The shadow-Epona charged at Bo again, but this time he caught it from its front legs and pulled it up in the air. "Look away, Colin, 'lest you'd like to see a rather gruesome sight!" But this warning came a little late as Bo yanked the creature's legs upwards and snapped them in two, causing a loud sound of cracking bones to ring through the room. Then he threw the creature aside so hard that it slammed into the wall and crushed its neck. Within moments from impact, it exploded into a huge plume of purple and black smoke, and then vanished into nothingness.

"Did you…kill it?" asked Colin, obviously shocked by the display of sheer power and shocking gruesomeness.

Bo quickly dusted himself of and walked over to the princess, lending her a hand. "No more creatures in here. And if any appear, I've more than enough brute strength to take care of them. You are welcome to rest here until it is no longer safe, Your Highness."

Zelda gladly took his hand and let him help lead her to the former sumo-wrestling room, where, upon arrival, called back to Colin, "Alright, there, son! You head on out to see Ilia then! Be careful, alright?" And with that, he slammed the door shut, not in a sign of rudeness towards Colin, but a sign of precaution from any other monsters that felt it a good opportunity to sneak in.

Colin quickly turned around and ran out of Mayor Bo's home.

zzz

Aura saw Colin and his little sister part ways. She knew that the little one was far to vulnerable to be left like that, although she also knew that there was only a short distance for her to go before she reached her destination. But for tiny legs, this task would take longer than there was time allowed for her to do.

Aura saw one of the shadow villagers begin walking towards Corinne, and she panicked. In an instant, she floated over to where she was, and struck a defensive pose, all the while forgetting that she no longer even had a physical form. With a cry of power, she thrust out her fist that she had concentrated magic around to attack the creature, suddenly remembering that she was only a shadow. At first, she was afraid that her attempt at defending the little girl would be in vain, and she would be attacked and most likely killed, but to Aura's surprise, her fist struck something solid, and she felt the impact on her hand. She watched as the creature exploded in a frenzy of flames and smoke at the impact of Aura's magic-imbued punch.

She then looked down at her body and noticed that she was glowing with the light of the Silver Tear. She turned around and noticed that she was touching Midna in her Imp form. She had defeated the doppelganger of Ilia, and was looking in surprise at Aura as her body slowly became visible, and the pendant of the silver tear that was hanging around her neck vanished from hers and appeared on Aura.

"Aura?" she asked. "It's really you!" Midna hurriedly embraced her future-daughter in an emotional burst of energy. "Zelda and I saw you disappear and thought that we had lost you forever!"

Aura hugged Midna back, though it felt a little strange to her for her mother to be in such a strange form, with such tiny legs and such a large head. "Midna," she began. "I was with you the whole time! I saw and heard everything! Even when you and father…I mean, you and Link risked your lives to save the princess! I was so moved…I have never seen such an act of friendship and bravery in my life! And you both knew that you could have died to save her!"

Midna smiled and pulled back from Aura. "Well, you can see the result of that selfless action right here in the flesh. I just can't believe that I've become this…_thing_ again. I thought that I'd never have to endure this form for a second time."

"A second time?" asked Aura, her curiosity now sparked. "What do you mean? You mean you've been like this before?"

Midna nodded, and then pulled Aura out of the way of an attack from another shadow-villager. "But I'll tell you all about it if we survive through this battle!"

"Agreed!" said Aura, as she pulled back to send a ball of hurtling magic at the creature at the exact same time as Midna.

zzz

Link had managed to defeat a single doppelganger of himself, but now that there were three of them, he didn't know what he could do. They all mimicked his every move, making it hard to land a single blow on any one of them, let alone the three of them together. Where were they all coming from? Was this really Ganondorf's final attempt at revenge? To destroy the homeland of the person who defeated him?

One of the Shadow Links had managed to knock Link off of his balance, and he fall on his back, still defending himself from the blows of his three attackers. He would not give up the fight, even when he knew the odds were against him. He had survived worse, right?

But then his blade slipped. One of his dark copies slashed him across the chest, spilling blood all over him. The wound was not at all deep, only just enough to draw blood, but it stung nonetheless. Just as the creatures prepared for a final blow, a throwing dagger flew through the air and pierced one of the doppelgangers in the head, causing it to fall over and explode in a plume of smoke. The other two copies turned their heads to look at what had felled their comrade, only to have two more throwing daggers chucked at their faces, killing them as well.

Link sat up, trying to cover his wound in the process, and turned his head, only to see Ashei and Auru, two members of the Resistance who had aided him on many an occasion in the past. "Ashei, Auru!" he exclaimed.

"We came as fast as we got the news, yeah?" said Ashei.

"Telma and Shad told us everything. I'm sure that the Gorons and the Zoras are on their way here as we speak," added Auru.

"I can't tell you how glad I am to see you!" panted Link. "Tell me, did you see Ilia and the kids get out of the village safely?"

All he received was a solemn look from the two of them.

Link's heart suddenly started beating a hundred times faster as he began jumping to conclusions. "What's happened to them? Tell me they're all right!" Then Link stood up straight so he could look them in the eyes at the same eye level. "Tell me they're safe!"

Ashei was the one to break the news to Link. "I'm sorry; Link, but none of them survived. When we had arrived, we found the bodies of the children covered in blood, lying next to your friend. Auru and I checked them for any signs of life, yeah? But they were already gone. We expect they were hit from behind…ambushed, if you will." Link could see that Ashei was doing her best to suppress the urge to vomit at the very memory of such a gruesome display. "Most of the villagers themselves are gone as well. They've all fallen. There are only a few fighters left."

"Even the little one, she couldn't have been more than a year old," added Auru solemnly. "What kind of monster could kill such an innocent little child?"

Link could not move his body. Everything all around him was sinking in. The kids, all of them, had been brutally murdered. The energetic Talo, cunning little Malo, the primp-and-polish Beth, the courageous Colin, and even his little sister Corinne…how could they all be gone? Even Ilia, his dearest friend in the whole wide world, had been killed. Now he knew what Midna and Ilia must have felt like when he had died. His heart felt like it was being torn into thousands of aching, burning pieces, and when those pieces seemed like they could be torn no more, they tore themselves again and set themselves aflame. Tears of hysteria and an unimaginable sorrow began streaming down his face, without Link even making a sound, and without him even moving a muscle.

All that was running through his mind was that they were gone. They were all gone, and they were never coming back.

Ashei and Auru each grabbed one of Link's arms and hoisted him into the nearest building. Ashei slapped his face in an attempt to bring him back to reality again. "Link, snap out of it, yeah? There's no time for this kind of behavior! Save your tears for after the battle! That is when the time for mourning is! Not here, not now!" She slapped him again, this time across the other side of his face.

Link finally snapped out of it, but he was whispering Ilia's name over and over again, followed by a slew of pleas of forgiveness and cursing himself for allowing her to be placed in such danger. When he had finished, he looked sternly at the two members of the Resistance with red, tear-filled eyes. "I will still fight, if only to destroy that which destroyed my home and my friends."

He stood up and walked over to his sword, and picked it up again. When he raised it to his face, he saw the reflection of what was going on behind him in his sword. It was Midna and the little Twili girl with blue eyes…could it be? Yes! It was Aura! The little girl from the future, the daughter-to-be of him and the woman he loved, fighting alongside Midna herself. They were fighting back-to-back so that they would not have a chance of being hit from behind.

Link decided that it would be best for him to pick off some baddies that were surrounding his future family, so that the two of them would not be overpowered. As he attacked, he saw Colin running away from the shop out of the corner of his eye. He slew the creature he was fighting and then called out to Colin. If he was still alive, there was still a chance that some of the others had survived as well, right? After all, the only members of the village that Ashei and Auru actually knew were Ilia, Rusl, and Link himself.

Colin heard Link calling his name, and looked up at him. His hands were stained with blood, and his face was stained with tears. His eyes were filled with shock and sorrow. He must have found his sister and the others. He began running towards Link, and then he jumped onto him and hugged him. Colin needed to be consoled now more than ever, and the only one still alive who could do such a thing was his hero, Link.

Colin sobbed into Link's close as he frantically spoke what he had seen. "They…they killed everyone! Mom and Dad and Beth! And Malo, Talo and Ilia, too! And…and little Corinne! Link, I…I held her in my arms as she was dying! Link, do you know how much it hurt to see everyone around me dying? And do you know what Corinne said? Right before she died she said my name for the first time…instead of calling me 'big brother' or a babyish twist of my name, she said my real name!" For a moment, Colin's voice was choked up and full of tears. "She reached up to me as if asking for my help, but I couldn't help her!"

Link gave Colin a quick hug and then looked straight into his eyes. "I know what it feels like to lose everyone. I'm experiencing it now, at the same time as you. But right now, we have to be brave and fight. If we can not destroy what has destroyed everything around us, it will only move on to destroy everything and everyone else in its path. It must be stopped before it comes to that."

Colin wiped his eyes with the back of his arm and then nodded at Link. He would fight with him and all who remained to fight this evil that took away his family and friends. He pulled out one of his father's short swords from the training-scabbard on his back, ready to kick some evil butt.

And so, the battle raged on for hours. The black clouds began to shrink away with every flash of black thunder, and with everyone working together, they were able to hold back a substantial portion of the shadow doppelgangers. But even they needed rest, and their energy and fighting spirit couldn't last forever. As Link felt himself weakening, all throughout his mind rushed strange visions of himself fighting in his hero's garb and wielding the Master Sword, fighting a shapeless darkness alongside a younger version of Aura, though for the life of him he could not figure out where these images were coming from.

"If only we could last for one more hour! Just a single hour would be enough!" he shouted to Ashei, Midna, Aura, Colin, and Auru.

"No way, yeah?" shouted Ashei. "We can't hold out that much longer!"

As Auru blocked another strike from a doppelganger, he added, "There's too many of them to hold them off for that long! I'm an old man, Link, I don't know how much more of this I can keep up!"

"Same here," shouted Colin. "I've never fought anything this strong before when my dad was training me! I'm already tired as it is!"

Aura turned towards Colin after delivering a magic-powered kick-flip to an enemy. "We can't give up though, or all of our efforts will have been in vain!"

"We just have to last until the Zora and Goron forces arrive!" said Midna. "Than we can rest and just have to worry about picking off any shadows that are left over after they lend a hand!"

Just as Midna spoke, a loud boom filled the air. It sounded as if the air was filled with crackling static. Everything stopped in its tracks, including all of the shadow-copies. They all turned to face the entrance of Ordon Village, only to see what they had been hoping for this entire time, with an added bonus.

It was an entire fleet of the Zoras and Gorons, led by an angry looking Princess Zelda, her powers fully restored, her eyes glowing white with anger, and magical wind whipping her hair all around her. And to top it off, the Mayor of Ordon himself was there with them, slamming his fists together in a challenge to the shadows.

Here was where the tides would turn in favor of the heroes.

"Get 'em, boys," was all that Zelda had to say before they all charged at the shadows and took over for the others. They all managed to find their way to a safe place to take shelter and rest while the battle continued. They watched as the Zoras slashed and skewered the shadows, and Bo and the Gorons toss around the shadows with their brute force. But what was most entrancing, and perhaps most frightening of all, was the way that Princess Zelda fought.

Every single kick, and every punch she threw, was surrounded and filled with magic. Every time that she landed a hit, sparks of white light would fly everywhere, followed by a loud crackling sound as the magic tore through the air. Her face was stoic and emotionless as she literally plowed through doppelganger after doppelganger. Shadow-copies flew left and right, exploding in a frenzy of black and purple smoke all around her. It was truly a marvel to watch.

Within an hour, just as Link had predicted, the sky had cleared, revealing a beautiful starry-skied night, and there was not a single enemy left standing. The fighters all joined together, exhausted yet satisfied that they had stood together and conquered Ganondorf's final attempt at revenge.

But they remembered everyone who had fallen, either trying to escape the clutches of this evil or fighting it back to protect those who could not fight for themselves. Wit the only surviving residents of Ordon being the Mayor and the son of a blacksmith, would this be the end for the village of Ordon? Would this be where they would have to bury the children, their very future?

The answer lied right before their eyes, as four enormous bodies of light burst from the sky. _This_ was the answer to their prayers. For even darkness must pass, and a new day will come. And when that day comes, the sun will shine all the brighter.

_A/N: Yes, I felt the need to name Uli's second-born child remarkably close to her son's name, even though the younger is, in fact, a female. Don't argue with me that Uli's baby wasn't a girl, its canon! Well, except for the name anyways, that I made up. I know this chapter was really tense…I was even tense writing it. I even had to take several breaks from it because I was getting too into it! Well, all that's left to do now is tie everything together in the dramatic finale, and I hope you all come back for the sequel! _


	19. The Sun Will Shine All the Brighter

Chapter Nineteen: The Sun Will Shine All the Brighter

Those four bodies of light were none other that the four Light Spirits; Ordona, Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru. "Heroes of Light…" they began. "We have seen your valiant efforts to thwart the darkness. We have seen you succeed in driving back the evil forced that plotted to destroy all of Hyrule along with those who live in it. Through your courage, the fate of Hyrule hath been preserved." Their heavenly voices boomed through the air towards the warriors.

Link stared up at them with a dumbfounded look upon his face. For a few moments, he just hung his mouth open, unable to say a word. He just couldn't collect all of his thoughts and feelings into words.

But then his mind came back to him. All of the emotions he had been enduring came flowing out with his words. Link was angered by what the spirits had said. "By courage, do you mean watching all you ever loved die all around you?! By courage, do you mean allowing innocent children to die?! What kind of guardians are you, if you can allow something like this to happen?!" he screamed at them, tears falling from his eyes and onto the ground. He swung out his arm angrily, as if he was attacking the air around the spirits. "You are supposed to stop things like this from happening! Why didn't you?! Why did you all just sit on the sidelines and watch as my home was destroyed?!" Link dropped to his knees, never once averting his eyes from the three great spirits. The tears were even heavier now, and he fought against letting the sobbing sounds escape from his throat.

There was a slight pause before the spirits' voices rang out in answer. "We know that you must be upset, and we fully understand your anger towards us. You must think us incompetent guardians…but you are wrong. With our powers we could have stopped this all before it happened, had we known about it in time."

This time it was Colin's turn to be angry. "Then why didn't you?! Why couldn't you just destroy it before all of this madness was even allowed to occur?!"

"Because, young warrior, we chose life over death, not for ourselves, but for the people of this village. By the time we realized what was happening, the children had all been killed. If we were to extinguish the darkness right then and there, we would have exhausted our powers, and would not have been able to hold onto their spirits, and thus return them to you."

There was another long pause of silence, at which was broken by Midna. "What?" she asked, rather confused.

"We knew that you could handle the darkness without our intervention, and so we chose to keep the souls of the murdered villagers with us so that they could be restored to life with all of our strength."

"Do you mean to say that you can break the laws laid down by the Goddesses themselves and return the dead to the living?" asked Midna.

"No…it is very much the same thing we did for you when you had been murdered at the hands of Ganondorf himself. We did not let your spirit ascend to the side of the Goddesses. Instead, we held it in our light…so that we could forge a new body for you and bring the two essences into one being again."

"But why?"

"Because…it was not your time, and it was not their time either. These people were not meant to die this day."

The angry words and whistling voices of the spirits ceased at that moment as a great silence erupted. And then the spirits began to glow extremely bright. Link instantly recognized what was going on. This was exactly what happened when the light spirits had brought his beloved Midna back from the dead. They were going to bring back the fallen villagers!

When the light died down, there were a mass of people walking out from behind it. They all looked at each other and exclaimed their happiness with one another.

Malo and Talo and their parents jumped together in sheer joy that they were alive and well again.

Beth's parents ran over to her, but she just crossed her arms and turned her back to them in a playful gesture. They put their hands on her shoulders, and she lightened up, turning around and embracing the two of them.

Finally, Rusl and Uli, with little Corinne in their arms, ran over to Colin and hugged and kissed their son. Corinne nuzzled up close to her big brother, happy to see him again.

"Colin, I'm so proud of you for standing up to the darkness," said Rusl, messing up Colin's hair in a friendly manner.

"You did your best, and we couldn't have asked for a better son," added Uli, kissing his forehead and putting Corinne on the ground.

"Colin!" shouted Corinne happily. She latched onto her brother's arm and nuzzled it lovingly, to which he patted her on the head gently in response.

Link looked around and saw that everyone was enjoying the fact that they were alive once again and met up with their families. He saw the hope in their eyes and looked towards Midna, expecting to see the same hope there. But she just had a worried look on her face.

"Midna?" asked Link.

"Link…look around you. Isn't something…I don't know, missing?" Midna looked all around her, as if expecting to see someone or something. "Someone is missing."

Link immediately followed suit and began looking all around him. Everyone was there, he thought. Jaggle, Pergie, Malo, Talo, Beth, Sera, Uli, Rusl, Corinne…and then it hit him. The most important girl of them all was missing. Ilia…

Link began to panic. Where was she? Had she not been brought back by the spirits? He frantically looked around him even more attentively than before. The spirits were still there, and had not yet vanished. Maybe they were still resurrecting her? But why was it taking so long? His heart was beating a mile a minute in fear for his dear friend.

Then, in the midst of all of the happy reunions and Link's panic, a single girl walked out from behind all of them. It was Ilia. She had her hand on her face, as if she was terribly dizzy. She saw Link and quickly stumbled over to him, but tripped before she even got to him. Instead of picking herself back up again, she merely asked, "Was I…dead?"

Link's face immediately lit up, and he called out her name in as loud a voice as he could muster, "Ilia!" He began to stumble towards her, but saw that her father would get there first at his quickening pace.

Her father, Bo, ran over to her and picked his daughter up off of the ground. "Ilia! Oh, Ilia, my girl, it's so good to see you alive and well!" He gave her a tight, loving embrace as all of his worries seemed to melt away with the knowledge that his beloved daughter was alive.

Ilia gave her father a weak smile before turning her eyes towards Link, who was still staring at her in utter awe. When she saw the expression on his face, her heart sank even lower. She loved him more than anything in the world, but she knew that he would never think of her as more than just a friend. Ilia turned her eyes away from Link once more, totally ignoring him.

Bo noticed that something was the matter with Ilia. "Ilia, mah' girl, are you all right? You seem a little down. Is somethin' the matter?"

Ilia just shook her head and kept her eyes away from Link.

Bo then noticed that Ilia would not acknowledge the presence of Link. Now he knew for sure what was wrong with his dear Ilia. He got down on one knee so that he could look her in the eye, and then lifted her chin up. "This is about Link, isn't it?"

Ilia just pulled out of her father's grip and looked away from him, sorrow filling her eyes.

"I'll just leave you alone then. I'll let you two youngsters work things out for yer' selves. I won't be getting' in the way." With that, he proceeded to walk away and back to the throng of Zoras and Gorons, who were watching the spectacle in amazement. He then proceeded to make motions as if he was thanking them for all of their help and then began to send them on their way, promising to send compensation for their much needed help when the village was rebuilt.

Link realized that Ilia was trying to ignore him, so he struggled to quickly pick himself up and run over to her after Bo had left. When he reached her, he touched Ilia on the shoulder. She had no choice but to turn around and look him in the eye. Link could see that Ilia was on the verge of tears, and his expression softened. "Ilia?" he asked.

She let go of her stubbornness and latched onto Link. Startled and unexpected, Link flinched as his best friend began to cling to him, but he slowly eased up and put his arms around her as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"Link," she finally began, after many tears had been spilt. "I know everything there is to know. I know that we are never going to be anything more than friends and it hurts. Because I know that your heart already belongs to another girl…am I wrong?"

Link suddenly felt guilty because of the way he did not feel about Ilia, and the way it was making her hurt so. "Ilia, I'm sorry…"

She looked up at him and shook a scolding finger at him. "No, don't ever be ashamed of loving someone. It is the world's most precious feeling, and even if it is love lost, it was once a love found. It makes us whole. I don't ever want to hear you apologize for loving someone again, do you hear me?"

Link had a confused expression on his face. He had not expected to hear such a thing from Ilia after she had found out the truth.

"Link, I know that right now it hurts, but the pain will go away in time." As she said this, she put her hand over her heart in a solemn manner. "We're still the best of friends, and that's what matters. Your happiness is my happiness, and even if that means that you must share yours with another woman, that will still make me happy." She then pulled herself away from Link's arms and walked over to Midna. She knelt down so that she was at eye-level with the little imp. She then leaned over to whisper into her ear. "You take good care of Link for me now, you hear?" and then she gave Midna a friendly smile that portrayed a mix of accepting defeat and happiness. Midna nodded, vowing to keep the promise for all time.

Then all was interrupted as the spirits began to speak once more. "There is still the issue of restoring you to your former selves," they began.

Link, Midna, Aura, and Zelda all looked up to the spirits now. The five of them began to glow with a magnificent illumination until they were all engulfed in whiteness.

"With the balance restored, the power of the gods must once more be put into capable hands. After centuries of this power being in the hands of evil, the day has finally come when it shall be passed on to righteous hearts."

And then to the four of them, their worlds went white, and appeared to be no more.

_A/N: WOW it took a long time for me to finish this… The reason it took so long was because it ended up being really long, and there were tons of parts that I did not think came out well and I had to rearrange quite a few things. But enough of my silly excuses, I'm sure you are all tired of them by now. I announce that this is NOT the final chapter I had planned it to be, rather the final chapter will be the next one. Things just got a wee bit long, so I split up the ending. I promise I'll post it timelier than I posted this chapter!_


	20. Hope in the Hearts of All

Chapter Twenty: Hope in the Hearts of All

It was very dark out, with the only light coming from a single candle. They were back inside of Link's house in what was left Ordon Village. Link awoke in Midna's arms, her eyes filled with tears. There was no one there but her. His heart fluttered as he noticed this little detail. As he breathed in, he coughed a little, unused to his lungs being used after being exposed to such a powerful magic for so long. "Midna, why are you crying?" he asked her weakly.

A single tear dripped down from Midna's face, landing on Link's nose. "I'm so glad that you're alive! I thought I had lost you again…"

"Ugh…my head hurts…the last thing I remember is the Spirits glowing really bright…and then everything went white…"

"Yeah, same here. I wonder if it was the same for everyone else." Midna sighed.

He squeezed out a dry laugh and reached up his hand with all of his might to touch her face and wipe away the rest of her tears. Never before had he realized how much he truly loved her…how afraid he was of losing her again. Over a year ago, when he thought that all hope of seeing her again was lost, he thought he knew for sure that he loved her. Back in the desert, he had thought he loved her then…but now, more than ever, his love was true. Even after the battle, he thought that his heart could not long for hers any more than it already did. But all of those times he was wrong, as now he loved her even more deeply than he ever could have fathomed.

"Do you notice anything different?" she asked him.

"Midna…" he began. Then he suddenly realized that she was no longer in her Impish form as she was previously, and was once again in her true form, immersed in total ethereal beauty once more. "Midna!" he exclaimed as he coughed again, but this time not as hard. He was already regaining his strength. He felt like an idiot for neglecting to notice this obvious detail before.

"That, and…"

Link looked at the hand he had placed on Midna's delicate face. He was once again dressed in his Hero's Garb, only without all of the belts and buckles (as it is imaginable that it would be highly uncomfortable to sleep with al those straps of leather and metal on), and his hand once more showed the symbol of the Triforce on it. The spirits had restored his gift to him, even though he no longer needed it.

Suddenly, a familiar young voice rang out through the small room. "Do you even remember what happened?" asked Aura, who was once again wearing the silver tear of her mother.

Link looked at her strangely, as if he had never seen her before. When Aura saw that blank look on his face, she quickly changed from being stubborn and casual to being worried. She rushed over to Link and put her hand on his forehead.

"Link? You do remember me…don't you?"

"I…of course I remember you!" stammered Link. "How could I forget?"

"Then how come you hesitated?"

"Because I was lost in thought…and amazed that you are still here. If you finished your duty, why can't you go back to your own time?"

Aura sighed and began to play with her pendant. "You see, I can not go back to my time because it no longer exists. Unless I am either killed or conceived, I can not leave in my present state.

Both Link and Midna were caught off guard by that last part. "Conceived?!" they both exclaimed at the same time.

"Uh…yeah, about that… You see, it is impossible for two people who are actually the same person to exist at the same time in the same place. Therefore, if another me, so to speak, were to come into existence, even if we were not the same age, the one who would not belong would merge with the one who did, their spirits essentially finding themselves again. But since there is no me from this timeline, I guess I'm stuck here until there is one."

Link just blinked and turned to Midna. "Midna, I don't know about you, but that went way over my head."

"What Aura is saying is that if there were an Aura from this time in this place, than she would not exist as the body she is now. Her mind and spirit would revert to infancy and merge with the Aura from this time and place."

"And that means…?"

"There is no Aura from this time, and in order for her to go back to normal, we need to create one."

"Oh," Link replied. Then, upon realization of what that meant, said, "OH…" with his eyes widened and a startled expression on his face.

To this, Aura and Midna laughed. Link shot a nasty glance at them and stuck his tongue out at them for picking on him like that. He was such a kid sometimes…because we all know that men never really grow up on the inside.

"Well…I guess I'll just leave you two alone then…" Aura giggled playfully as she skipped out of the room and slipped into the shadows.

For a long time, Midna and Link just kept sitting on the bed and staring at the spot on the floor where Aura had disappeared to. At long last, Midna broke the silence and said, "Well, I'm worn out, what about you?"

"I vote we go to sleep," replied Link.

"Who said you had a choice?" replied Midna playfully.

As Link crawled under the covers, he chuckled back at her. "Good night, Midna."

As she cuddled up to him, she responded, "That's _princess_ Midna to you!"

After that, he patted her on the head like she was a puppy and then turned and blew out the candle light. "Goodnight, _princess_ Midna."

"Goodnight," she whispered back to him. Within minutes, sleep overtook them, and their minds drifted swiftly to where all dreams are made.

zzz

Ilia walked by the foot of Link's house, just out of a sheer urge to do so. She saw the faint glow of the candle light flicker through his window…and then go out. She looked closer at Link's house.

Ilia knew that the light spirits had brought him back to life back in the desert…they had brought her back as well when she had been killed in the village. It was all thanks to Princess Zelda, the Gorons and Zoras, and even the very woman that had earned the heart of her beloved…Midna. If the princess and the others had not destroyed the darkness of Ganondorf that had been resurrected from Link's blood, all of Hyrule would have been dead by now…and she and the other villagers would not have been brought back from the dead.

She was grateful…but also sad, for she knew that he loved another. She was not so selfish as to try and pull them apart…for she truly loved Link and wished nothing more for him than to be happy and safe. She only wished that, if the gods would have permitted it, he could have shared his happiness with her…

If nothing else, she was going to have to get used to the fact that Midna was going to be staying with Link until they were able to find a way for her to get back to her realm. Well, they could always become friends, right? They were already allies, so why not be on friendly terms on top of that? Suddenly, things weren't looking so bleak for Ilia any more. What with reconstruction of the village already underway, the children safe inside her father's house (for that was where the villagers had taken to staying until the rest of the homes had finished construction), and the darkness gone once and for all, she knew that tomorrow the sun would shine brighter than it ever had for her before.

She walked away, unable to so much as be in the mere presence of Link's house any longer. Her heart would move on eventually, it would just take time to heal. And she had all the time in the world. Besides, she and Link were still friends, right? Ilia turned around and walked back to her father's house, her heart both heavy and enlightened.

She knew that hope had been restored to the hearts of all people, herself included.

zzz

In the morning, Midna was awakened by the bright light of the morning sun gleaming through Link's open window. She raised her arm to her eyes to block out the harsh light, and then turned to face Link, who was still sleeping. She wondered how a light this bright could not wake him up.

She crawled out of bed and combed her fingers through her hair to get the knots and tangles out…at least a majority of them anyways. She then did her hair in the fashion she always did it in, and then materialized her robes from Twilight Matter. She was all ready for the day now.

Midna turned around and jumped when she saw that Aura was right behind her, looking up at her.

"Hi mom!" she shouted.

"I thought you said that I wasn't your mom?!" replied Midna, still trying to catch her breath after the scare she gave her, placing her hand over her heart to signify her exasperated shock.

"Well, technically that is true, but I can't just go around calling out, "Hey, You," now can I?"

"Well that's good to know at least."

"Should we wake up the log?"

Midna and Aura shot a glance towards the sleeping Link.

"Let's," replied Midna, as the two Twili girls developed a mischievous grin on their faces.

What commenced in the following moments was Midna using her magic to make the bed extra bouncy and Link more resistant to the pull of gravity, while Aura leapt on to the bed yelling, "Wakey-wakey!" This then resulted in Link waking up, screaming as he flew through the air and landed back on his bed. All he got were girly giggles in response.

"That's what you get for sleeping in and not helping!" said Aura.

"Not helping?" asked Midna and Link at the same time.

"Yeah," replied Aura. "The villagers are all awake, including the children, and they're all already out there building and stuff."

"This early?" asked Link.

"Actually," said Midna, "It's already 10:30."

"Exactly! That's still early!"

"You're a farm boy, Link, aren't you supposed to wake up early?" sighed Aura.

"Well…not on weekends…and when I've been off adventuring and what not…"

"No excuses, now you two get your butts out there and help out the others! The faster we get this done, the better! I've been working all morning; it's time you pulled your weight."

With that, the three exited Link's house and joined the others in rebuilding the village.

zzz

Many weeks passed, and the village was eventually rebuilt, with help from all who could lend a hand. Princess Zelda was eventually escorted back to Hyrule Castle, where there was much rejoicing. Ilia had returned to her usual happy nature, and the children had resumed their playful behaviors once more. Aura had become good friends with the other children, Colin and Corinne in particular, and she learned a great deal about the world her father came from.

When the day arrived when Aura was finally able to leave, she gave her pendant to Midna, and instructed her that as long as she wore it, she would be able to come to the Realm of Light once a year, because the tear would build up enough magic for a round trip in that amount of time.

With her heart heavy after having to leave her new village friends and her beloved husband, and father of the child inside of her, she returned to her home in the Twilight Realm, where she resumed her role as its princess and ruler. Every day she held the hope inside her that she would see her loved ones soon.

In time, Midna's little Aura was born, and the story of the new Twilight Princess began to unfold. But that story…will be saved for another time.

_A/N: It's finally over! The first part of the Daughter of the Twilight, Daughter of the Light has been finished. I hope you all enjoyed every last moment of it as much as I did! The sequel will be arriving in due time, so keep a weathered eye on the horizon! I bid you all a very fond, although temporary, farewell!_


End file.
